Chronicles of the Elusive Angel 5: Passion
by Kenjaje
Summary: Lilo and Stitch are now back to their original bodies. Now all that's left is to capture Zeus, and they've even got a surprise visit from Angel, who's agreed to help them. Should be a piece of coconut cake...right?
1. Troubled Visitor

Chronicles of the Elusive Angel (5):

Passion

C/By: Kenjaje

Edited/Revised by: raVen

Chapter 1: Troubled Visitor

Rain patted daintily on the windows surrounding the perimeter of the tower. The occasional lightning flashed, and a muffled sound of thunder echoed from the clouds. But inside, it felt safe, warm, and secure. The elevator hummed as Lilo came up from the floor, she wore fresh pajamas from the drier, and a towel in her hands still dried her damp hair. Stitch glanced at her, and stretched out on his bed.

"_Man_ that felt good." Lilo commented, as she tossed the towel—along with the wet mass of clothes she had worn during the storm—into the pile of already existing dirty laundry on the floor. "I'm just glad you didn't have much mud in your fur. It took forever to clean out what was in there already." He sifted a hand through the soft, blue, and now clean strands of fur on his head as she spoke.

"Eh." He agreed, hopping down to the floor as Lilo jumped on her bed, which lacked sheets.

"This wait is starting to get on my nerves," she said, "I don't like how Zeus is able to run free for the night. No telling what he'll do." Stitch jumped up and sat near her, popping his joints.

"Tomorrow, catch Zeus. Eh."

"It's not like we have a choice, it's gotta be the first thing we do." She paused and craned her neck to look outside. "It might just be me, but I think the storm is starting to picking up a little bit." She said, lying back, and sighing. "If I wasn't so exhausted, I don't think I'd be able to get to sleep." Lilo closed her eyes.

"Miga legatchu." He agreed, yawning.

"I just hope the whole island doesn't sink while we're asleep" She huffed, and relaxed her arms behind her head. The bare mattress scratched at her legs and neck, but she would have gone to sleep from sheer weariness anyway, had there not been a noise to arouse her. Stitch apparently heard it also; it was fast, and sounded like a small, hollow, tapping. The two scanned the rows of windows, and Lilo was the first to spot the source as the sound came to their ears again. "Angel!" Lilo exclaimed, jumping off the bed.

"Angel?" Stitch repeated, as he followed Lilo. She bent over and picked up the towel on the floor as she passed it, and then mashed a button on the wall. The window slid open along with a loud thunderclap from outside, and Angel's face was lit up behind the dark sky.

"What are you doing here?" Lilo asked, as she helped Angel through the window and wrapped the towel around the shivering bundle of matted fur. "Are you alright?" She asked, mashing the button again to close the window.

"_I…I'm fine,_" Angel said, shivering as she wrapped the towel tighter. "_I got caught in the flood, and it washed me near here._" She finished, as Stitch walked her to the bed.

"We know how you feel." Lilo said. She and Stitch both rolled their eyes. "Our little cousin has put up one heck of a storm."

"_You mean an experiment made this storm?_"

"Eh, Zeus."

"_Zeus?_" Angel's eyebrow lifted, "_What kind of name is…never mind._" She said, withdrawing the rest of her statement. "_Well, I suppose that comes to me as no surprise._" She continued expectantly. "_Which one is it?_"

"599. 'Creates large storms', and who knows what else." Lilo said. She peered into the distance, a sudden realization occurring to her. "Speaking of cousins, I hope all the others are ok…"

"_They are._" Angel said briskly, rubbing the towel across her arms. "_We all found each other around the time the storm started._" Angel paused to sneeze. "_We made a makeshift shelter on some high land after the first floods started to break loose. Since then, all that have been able to help have been on water-control, while the rest are waiting safely at the shelter._" She sniffled, sliding off the bed and walking toward the window to look outside.

"Were you on flood-control?" Lilo asked.

"_No,_" She replied, turning back toward them, _"I was at the shelter for a while, but…_" Her manner changed, she gripped the towel tight around her, and a sour look showed on her face as she paused. "_But, they suggested I come here and stay with Stitch._" She finally said.

"Well," Lilo smiled, "it's alright with Stitch and me if you stay." Lilo said. "Right Stitch?" She asked, elbowing him.

"Oh, ah…eh." He agreed, snapping back from his distant silence. Something about Angel's situation didn't seem right to him, she seemed sad about something.

"_Thanks, you two._" Angel smiled, and her posture relaxed as she felt at ease.

"Hey, how about I get us some ice cream?" Lilo proposed. "After swimming around in all that water, I feel hungry." She complained, rubbing her stomach as it growled. Stitch saw a twinkle flickered in her eye. A _usual_ sign that she had a devious plot or idea she was going to secretly execute, either that or she was being clever.

"Suga." Came their reply.

"Ok, I'll be right back." She said cheerfully, leaping onto the elevator and taking it down to the floor below. Stitch heard her footsteps until she reached the stairs, then they slowly muffled into silence. The room was quiet for a second, until Angel sneezed again.

"Getchaba." Stitch said, turning to face her. She said nothing in response, but her face gave the kindest smile Stitch had ever seen her give. She rubbed the towel on her head to dry her ears, and held it down in front of her, not sure of where to put it. "Allow miga." Stitch said, as he took it and put it back into the pile of to-be-washed items.

"_Stitch…_" She said, at first cooingly, but then wonderingly. "_You are Stitch…right?_" she asked, her voice a bit uneasy, as she was a bit afraid to ask the question.

"Uh-huh," he said, nodding, "Stitch and Lilo back to normal." Angel smiled again, her uneasiness left her and she giggled under her breath.

"_Are you sure? You're not Lilo trying to trick me, right?" _She asked again, looking into his eyes. Stitch blinked, his eyes darted around quickly as if looking for an answer, until he finally straightened his shoulders and nodded. "_Ok, I trust you._" She replied, turning around and walking to the bed. She sat on the floor with her back up against it. Stitch sat close next to her. She stared into the distance while he sat down, but a moment after Stitch stared at her, she gave him the smile again. "_It seems like a long time. Since she and you changed, I mean._"

"Yeah." He replied, half thinking about the entire day, while he stared at her. She sighed heavily, and leaned over, putting her head on his shoulder.

"_Even though it's only been about a day…it still feels like a lifetime. And the last time you and I talked together feels even more distant._" Stitch leaned his head back, and felt Angel grab his left hand. "_I couldn't really sleep last night, you know. I tried, but I kept having a dream that those robots changed you…forever._" Her tone started to get dreamy, and Stitch closed his eyes as he listened to her."_We—Lilo and I—kept trying again and again, but we couldn't change you back._"

"Naga, Stitch fine. Robots not harming Stitch anymore." He said calmly, patting Angel's hand.

"_I know,_" she said smiling with reassurance. "_But I couldn't help thinking about it. I keep wondering, 'what would happen, if Lilo wasn't there'? Since, she's the one that really changed you." _She lifted her head from his shoulder and looked at him, as if really expecting an answer to her question. He couldn't tell what to do, and he sighed with relief as the elevator hummed, catching Angel's attention. Both of them looked over to the elevator, expecting to see Lilo with a few bowls of ice cream. But, in opposite, only two bowls of ice cream, and a few napkins, arose on the platform.

"Lilo?" Stitch asked, after pausing for a moment. He stood up and walked to the platform, extending his extra arms to carry all the items, and then walked back to Angel, who was now leaning against the bed again. He stopped after a few paces, and turned, expecting to see the elevator go down. _"Does she…want us to be alone?" _He thought, finally turning back and giving Angel her bowl.

"_Where is she?_" Angel asked, taking her bowl with a thanking under her breath.

"Naga nota." Stitch said, turning back once again to eye the elevator. "Just eat." He said, taking his spoon and lifting it to his mouth. Angel took the spoon as well, ate what was on it, then lifted the bowl and took the whole of it into her mouth. Stitch's eyebrow lifted as she chewed the entire bowl's worth and swallowed with a noisy gulp.

"Gaba?" She asked, as she saw Stitch gazing at her. He turned his head, shrugged, and ate the rest in the same manner. Both were hit with an agonizing brain-freeze.

"Nagitcha," he replied, after shaking off the extreme cold, "Stitch just didn't expect Angel to eat like that." He continued, his voice full of honestly. She laughed.

"_Well, I sorta got it from you. Along with the interesting ability to pick my nose with my tongue…_" She replied, a grin crossing her lips. Stitch didn't know whether to laugh, or just smile, so he hid his face a little bit. "_I feel bad, Lilo eating all alone…_" Angel said, her eyes drifting to the platform.

"Angel wait here, Stitch get Lilo." He said, picking up the bowls and pacing to the elevator. She nodded in reply as he seemed to disappear through the floor. It settled quietly as it arrived to the second floor, and Stitch stepped out as the doors opened with a swish of air. A shimmering blue light cast out from Jumba's room's open door. Stitch saw the computer in the corner of his eye, and assumed that to be the source.

The hallway was quiet as Stitch trotted down. He passed the bathroom, and Lilo's old room, staring at the door as he walked by. When he came to Nani's door, however, he tiptoed across, not wanting to wake her, lest he suffer her wrath. As soon as he felt out of range, he quickly darted the rest of the way, and slowed down when he got to the stairs.

He walked down slowly; the area was dark. The T.V. was fuzzy with light in the living room, but no one seemed to be presently watching it. The kitchen light was the only one on, and it was easy for him to see Lilo, and the bored expression on her face as she stirred her half melted ice cream. He looked down at his feet, letting his ears down, silently debating whether he should approach her, or to go back upstairs. But Angel would wonder if something was wrong if he came back alone, and he was also carrying dishes, so he decided to continue on.

"Um, Lilo?" He asked, meekly approaching the kitchen.

"Huh?" She said, her head lifting, and the dull expression turning to wonder. "Oh, hi Stitch." She said, a weary smile forming on her face. "Are you done already?"

"Eh." He replied, twitching the bowls in his hand while walking to place them in the sink with a glassy _chink_. He washed his hands of the sticky mess and took a seat adjacent to Lilo. "Something…bothering Lilo?" He asked, after he paused for a moment.

"No, why?" She replied.

"Because, Lilo didn't come back up…"

"Oh." She said, stirring the slush a bit more before she lifted a spoonful to her mouth.

"Why, though?" He continued, a tone of concern in his voice. Lilo smiled, hiding her fatigue.

"Because, Angel is here…and I just wanted you two to be together for a while. Alone. That's all."

"But, down here, Lilo alone."

"I don't mind. I just didn't know if you wanted me there."

"Lilo doesn't have to le-"

"C'mon," she interrupted, quickly standing and walking her bowl to the sink. "Let's go, Angel's waiting on us." She passed him, and grabbed his hand, leading him up to the elevator. Stitch wanted to speak, but couldn't find the words. _"Is she trying to avoid being with me if Angel is around?" _

"_I knew she would do something like that._" Angel said aloud to no one. "_I knew that coming here would stir things up a bit…but they…_" She let out a sigh. "_I wish I could tell her that she doesn't have to, but what if I'm wrong? What I'm just assuming things? Maybe she was just busy because of her sister or something._" She turned to the nearest window, and put a paw to the glass as a flash and thunder echoed across the sky. "_At least its just for one ni-_"

"So, I figure," came Lilo's voice, "that because we were in each other's bodies we were at a disadvantage, but now that we're back to normal we should be able to take on Zeus no-problem." Lilo finished as she rose up from the floor. Stitch nodded and spoke in agreement. "That's why I left, I just needed time to think. But still…"

"Talk in the morning." Stitch said. "Miga echuga."

"Yeah, I guess you're right." She agreed with a yawn. Groggily she slumped over to the bed. "Where can Angel sleep?" She said aloud, to no one in particular. "I don't think we can bring the extra mattress up here at this time of night very easily…"

"_I…don't mind me, I'll just find some place to sleep…maybe on the floor or-_"

"The floor? What are you crazy?" Lilo exclaimed. Stitch laughed, though he didn't really know why. Perhaps his mind was already half asleep, and the other half wasn't quite under control.

"_Well, I don't know, I don't want to be a bother…_"

"Nah, you're not a bother. You can just sleep in my bed." She pointed to the object of discussion. "Oh yeah," she said dully as she looked back, "I forgot, Pleakley washed the sheets today. I'll be right back, they're just in the laundry room." Lilo said, walking to the elevator. But Angel dashed in front of her, beating her to the platform.

"_I'll go._" She quickly volunteered.

"You don't have to-" Lilo tried to retort, but Angel had already disappeared Lilo looked at Stitch questionably. He shrugged. "She's your girlfriend, you tell me why she's so shifty." Again, Stitch let out a laugh.

_"Let's see…"_ Angel thought, _"The laundry room is, this way." _She pointed, trying to remember the house from when she was last inside. It had been a little while since she'd been in this part of the house, probably as far back as when she first met Stitch.

The halls were dark and quiet; a peaceful silence compared to what went on outside. Angel wondered how Stitch got out of the flood; she assumed they were caught, by their implying it, though she didn't actually know. She didn't sink, but it was still plenty difficult to get out of the current. _"Must've been a miracle for him. He still looks a bit shaken though…" _

She realized she'd passed the laundry room without realizing it, and quickly backtracked to the noise of the humming dryer. She glanced around in the dark, her eyes trying their best to see. She didn't exactly have Stitch's night-vision, and the fuzzy memory of the layout didn't help much either. She stumbled over a basket as she followed the wall, finally making contact with a light switch.

She squinted as the light pierced her eyes but quickly she blinked away the spots and made her way to the happily churning machine. With a few failed attempts, she finally figured out how to stop and open the dryer, where inside she sifted through the bundles of different masses. Pulling out the sheets. She shut the dryer, and instantly it began to hum again.

She smiled and turned to head out into the hall, but paused. She scanned the room, remembering the last time she was here. Lilo had given her the makeshift bed out of the basket to sleep in, and set it in the laundry room for the night, claiming that she wanted her as far away as possible. And back then, Angel remembered she was deceitful, and stole out to meet Gantu at the ship in the middle of the night. Angel sighed with remorse; she wished that had never happened—a memory she wanted to forget.

Deep inside of her, she felt the strange feeling again. She had no way to describe it until Stitch claimed it was her 'programming'. It was relentless, always showing up when she last wanted it to. A little voice that commanded her will. A ringing sounded in her ear.

"_No._" She silently ordered, and the feeling simply vanished. She shook her head, turned off the light, and walked back to the elevator. "_It's never been that easy to control before._" She said under breath. "_Just hope it stays that way._"

"There you are!" Lilo exclaimed, as Angel rose up from the floor. "I was beginning to think we might have to search the house for you." She snickered.

"Soka," Angel apologized, chuckling, "_I guess I didn't know this house as well as I thought._"

"That's ok." Lilo said, sliding off the bed, Stitch following in toe. Each of them grabbed an item and began working. Lilo and Stitch put the sheets on the beds, while Angel did the pillows. In no more than a few minutes, they completed the task. "Finally." Lilo sighed. "We can get to sleep."

"Eh." Stitch agreed, rubbing his eyes. Exhausted, and already on the verge of conking out, all three went to their beds. A small rumble came to let them know that the storm was still on outside, and as they quieted their rustling, the rain pattering against the walls grew louder until the noise froze at a steady beat. "Enchu-jae." Stitch said to Angel and Lilo in the other bed.

"G'night Stitch,"

"Enchu-jae boochie-boo." Came their replies. Another rumble echoed outside, and Lilo felt Angel shift uneasily. Darkness flooded the room as Lilo turned out the light, and for a long while it was quiet, until Angel's voice sounded just barely above the noise of the outside rain. "_Lilo_."

"Hm?" Came her response.

"_Thank you_." Lilo turned to face Angel, even though she couldn't see her, and gave a smile before she turned back and fell quietly to sleep.


	2. Sleepless Night

Passion

C/By: Kenjaje

Edited/Revised by: raVen

Chapter 2: Sleepless Night

Thunder rumbled across the air more violently than ever. Lightning struck at the ground with a fierce bite, and rain now turned to small bits of hail that thudded and clunked against the windows and walls. An uneasy sleeper was stirred, but not by the noise coming from outside.

Stitch opened his eyes and found himself wide-awake, like someone had flipped a switch inside of him. However, two flashes of light passed before he could muster up the ability to register what he was seeing. The room was pitch black; so dark that he had to raise his hand to his eyes to make sure they were open. He scratched his head and noiselessly came to a sit, trying to look around in vain.

He wondered what had aroused him. At first he thought it was the storm; it was loud enough after all. Perhaps he was startled by an unearthly loud thunderclap. But as another flash of light came, something near Lilo's bed caught his attention.

Angel sat, hugging her knees; her eyes open but not seeing anything. She was tired; that much could be told by the split second Stitch saw her. She looked as though she was ready to fall over again, but something was keeping her up. Stitch quietly let himself down, the noise of the hail muffling his movements. He took his bed sheet with him as he made his way over to Angel. She let out a gasp and her fur stood on end as she suddenly felt something heavy cover her body.

"Shush." Stitch whispered, fitting the sheet around her shoulders. "Only miga." He said calmly. She let out the breath she'd taken in slowly, and relaxed, taking the sheet in her hands and hugging it close around her. Stitch took the spot next to her. "Couldn't sleep?" He whispered.

"N…naga." She replied, stuttering.

"Dreaming again?"

"_I…well, yeah…but…_"

"But…" He repeated. She looked ahead, at the window. Stitch noticed she was shivering a bit, but it wasn't that cold at all. "_I, uh,_" she glanced back at him, he looked back, not sure of why she was so agitated, "_I don't think you know this…but…you won't laugh will you?_"

"Kajasha gaba?" He asked, lifting an eyebrow. _"What's she so worried about?" _

"_I'm,_" she looked up at him sheepishly, "_I'm afraid of thunderstorms…_" She finished, whispering lower. Stitch twitched his ears, looking at her as she jumped and tightened the covers around her when a loud thunderclap that rung in his ears hit the house. She glanced up after it quieted, and saw Stitch's grin, trying to suppress a snicker. "_You said you wouldn't laugh!_" She hissed, embarrassed.

"S…s…soka." He finally managed to reply, having to abort the word into just a breath so that he didn't laugh. She still kept the hurt glare on him, and he put his ears down with guilt. "_I really am._" He said quietly, hugging her. Her eyes relaxed and she smiled as she released an arm to return the gesture. "Good thing cousins let Angel come here." He chuckled. Angel's smile faded a bit. "One thing Stitch not understand," he said, shifting off his legs, which were losing circulation, "why didn't Angel stay?"

"Gabitcha choosha?" She asked, taking the sheet in her hand and wrapping it around Stitch.

"Angel came here, but Angel smarter. _You knew it was dangerous, why didn't you stay where you were already safe?_" He finished in his native tongue. She looked back at him, with a blank stare, like she didn't have an answer. "Angel?" He asked rhetorically, as she blinked the water from her eyes.

"_It's not their fault, they just didn't understand, and it was just better-_"

"Not understand what?" Stitch interrupted. Angel paused while she sat up to face him. She started to speak, but hesitated. "Naga ishkatu…if you don't want to." He said sympathetically.

"_No…I suppose you'd figure it out one way or another._" She replied, putting a hand on his. "_The real reason why I came here wasn't exactly because the other's suggested I should." _She continued admittedly, "_I wanted to stay and help, I really did, but they all believe…_" She paused, as if afraid to say it.

"Believe what?"

"_They all believe I'm still evil._" She finally said, closing her eyes. She was afraid of his reaction. She heard a low growl in her ears. "_Don't be mad._" She pleaded, looking back at him.

"Not right." He retorted.

"_Not all of them thought that way, Slushy tried to convince them but…they wouldn't listen._" That made sense to Stitch. After all, Slushy was with them, when they went to rescue Jumba and Pleakley from Achie-baba Kino. And it was he who rescued Angel before the eruption. Stitch wondered if he should talk to him again, maybe the two of them together could convince the others. Stitch relaxed, the forgiving eyes of Angel coaxed him to drop his anger. "_They just don't understand yet, so don't be angry at them, ok?_"

"Oketaka." He finally replied after a pause. Angel smiled again, and put her arms around him.

"_That's my _boochie-boo." She said happily. He hugged her back, but at the wrong time; what felt like an earthquake shook the room after a deafening cackle of thunder. Angel would have screamed had Stitch not covered her mouth, and she would have probably jumped through the roof had he not held her so tightly. He could feel her heart racing with fear as she clung to him for a long moment, as the rumbling steadily ceased.

"Angel _really _afraid." He said, releasing his hand from her mouth, revealing teeth marks on his fingers from when she'd accidentally bitten him in surprise.

"_I…I'm sorry. It's really silly._" She said bashfully.

"Miga-to ishkaba" He replied, wringing his hand to stop the stinging. "_For someone who has the nerve to jump into a ship in low gravity with two people clinging onto her and a horde of sentinels at her heels, being afraid of a little thunderstorm is kind of humorous…_" He replied. (Which, in his tongue were about half as many words.) Angel leered at him, the hurt expression returned to her eyes.

_"He's not getting out of _that_ one with just an apology." _She thought, as her shifted from offended to mischievous. He seemed to respond to the expression, as his changed from sarcastic to uneasy. Angel's teeth showed with a large, and evil looking smile, and her eyes squinted menacingly.

"Oh naga." Stitch said plainly, setting down his ears. He knew she wasn't going to hurt him, and even though her actions were playful, they were surprisingly aggressive. Half struggling, Stitch found himself pinned down by her. The sheet was thrown every which way as he tried to get out.

"_I'm not letting you get away._" She laughed. Stitch laughed as well, unable to get out of the simple hold she had on him. Her arms had his wrists, and though it was weak, she had his legs immobilized with hers. After struggling for a good while, Stitch quieted deliberately, keeping Angel distracted while he put an element of surprise into play.

Out from his sides came the two extra arms he usually kept hidden away. For a split second he thought of when Lilo was in his body, and how she said this action made her sick to her stomach (or technically, _his_ stomach). He didn't feel any such nausea. In fact, he didn't see how the extra appendages could possibly feel strange, as they helped him in many ways when he needed them; in this case, escape.

Angel's eyes widened and the shimmer near the top quivered as she felt something tickle her sides. But that only made her more aggressive. She changed her weight, and gripped his wrists tighter, twisting her body and taking him with her motion. A rumble of thunder muffled the noise of Stitch colliding with the bedside table.

"_Are you alright?_" Angel asked, rubbing Stitch's head where the place of contact was. Stitch blinked the spots away from his eyes, and groaned as he propped himself against the table. Angel heard Lilo murmur, and suddenly remembered that the girl was sleeping. She peeked up onto the bed to see if Lilo had awakened, but saw her eyes closed. "_We'd better cool it, I don't want to wake her up._" Angel said, letting go of the bed and returning her attention to Stitch.

"Eh." He whispered, sitting up. "Ow." Came his voice again, along with another _bonk _as his head made contact with the lip of the table hanging over the side.

"_Boochie-boo._" Angel said sympathetically, rubbing his head again.

"I'm ok, I'm fluffy." He said, blinking away the stars again. Another rumble shook the house, and Angel let out a low, worried groan, but was distracted as she heard something metallic hit something soft. "Chiba." Came Stitch's voice, as she looked over at him.

"_What was that?_" She asked, looking at what he picked up off his stomach. He looked at the object, and then at Angel. "_Can I see?_" She asked.

"Suga." He replied, handing it to her. She took it with care, and examined it for a moment. A thick line of gold-painted metal surrounded a polished stone of what color Angel couldn't tell. She swept her fingers across the stone and felt the cold, smooth, surface, and a few scratches that were present.

"_I've seen something like this before…a few days ago…_"

"Pendant," Stitch said, "Stitch gave to Lilo."

"_A pendant?_" She repeated.

"Eh. At least, Lilo calls it that."

"_Do you have one?_" She asked, returning Lilo's to Stitch.

"Eh, Lilo gave Stitch one, iba…" He thought for a second, and then looked down, "Pendant lost, somewhere."

"_That's sweet._" Angel said, _"What did you give them to each other for?_"

"Lilo gave Stitch first. Pendant color describes personality. Stitch green, for promise and hope. Lilo red, for determination and ambition." He said, placing the red-stoned pendant back on the table. He had forgotten all about them, and silently wondered where his was.

"_Wait a minute, yours was green?_" She asked, rather quickly. Stitch nodded. "_Then it was _yours _that I remember seeing._" She said, excited that she finally put her finger on it."_We found it when you had gone missing. In truth, that's how we found you, it had Gantu's name written on it._"

"Maybe Lilo has it somewhere." Stitch wondered aloud. He smiled with hope.

"_What color do you think I would be?_" Angel asked, moving to sit beside him. He moved to give her room, and waited for her to get settled.

"Naga nota." He replied, as she looked at him. Her feet grabbed the sheet, and she lifted it to cover them. "Does Angel want one?" Stitch asked, as the sheet enveloped everything below his neck.

"_I don't know. It sounds nice, but you don't have to. I'm so careless, I might end up losing it anyway._" She giggled, resting her head on his shoulder. She smiled peacefully and closed her eyes, and didn't even stir when, quite possibly, the loudest thunderclap of the night sounded right overhead.

"Maybe…" Stitch thought. "White." He replied, answering her question. But she wasn't able to hear; she was asleep on his shoulder. Stitch smiled and covered her with the sheets, careful not to disturb her, and fell asleep a moment later for the rest of the night.


	3. For A Stay

Passion

C/By: Kenjaje

Edited/Revised by: raVen

Chapter 3: For A Stay

Dew was flung from the leaves of a twanging tree branch as it was let go by a quick hand. The body to which it was attached was furred; colored white and gray, as if someone had literally taken a piece of the overcastted sky and breathed life into it. The visible aura of fog surrounding the creature gave it a seemingly ghost-like appearance, but the creature itself wasn't too particularly aware of that.

Steadily Zeus floated an inch or two off the ground, as if on the dense fog that it kept around its body. The lake underneath Zeus' feet took on the effects of a murky swamp as the experiment made its way to the black ship in the riverbank. A knock, then two, then three, humbly bellowed through the metal hull as the experiment knocked for attention, the sunlight that it feared now peeking over the horizon and creating light blue bands against the dark blue sky.

"Who is it? And at this hour?" Came an unhappy voice from inside the ship as Gantu pushed the door open. "Oh, it's you." He said with realization.

"Gantu, is it?" Zeus asked.

"Yes, what do you want?"

"May I stay here for a few hours? The sun is coming up on the horizon, and I'm afraid I need to recuperate for a short time to get my powers back. I merely need a place to stay that can block the UV rays efficiently, and your ship is the perfect vessel." The experiment said while bowing.

"Alright." Gantu grunted. "You can come in, but don't touch anything." He continued, opening the hatch wider to allow access for the experiment. But Zeus seemed to merely disappear before his eyes, and reappear next to him a moment later. "How did you-" Gantu began to ask, pointing outside and then at where Zeus stood presently. "Never mind." He sighed. "I'm going back to bed."

Lilo's mind clicked on slowly, she lay unable to move under the warm covers. Her face felt a bit cold, and her breath was chilly, causing her to involuntarily use her arms to lift the sheets over her mouth. She could tell it was daytime outside, or at least what looked like daylight hit the lids of her eyes. Darkly shaded and tinted red, she couldn't really tell, and didn't have enough will power to move the lids out of the way to see.

For a long time she didn't want to leave the cozy covers. Zeus must have done something to the air to make it colder, she figured, which was all right with her—she was looking for an excuse not to get out of bed yet. Aside from a heavy sleep still looming over her, she would have had no other reason to have to move except sheer laziness (which was also a good enough excuse, in her opinion).

But she couldn't help thinking something was out of place. Something was—or wasn't—as it should be, and she couldn't place her finger on it. Something had changed since she went to sleep, but what was it? She tried to think, but the black cloud banished the thoughts and memory away.

A few minutes of resting passed, and suddenly, she felt a burst of energy inside of her that needed to be released, so she decided to satisfy it by turning over to the other side of the bed, planning to slam her hand down on the mattress. But then, something clicked, and she remembered that someone was sleeping there, but she couldn't stop now, all she could do was hazily wait for her to make contact with whoever was there.

As she stopped rolling to the other side, she realized that whatever was there wasn't present. Taking a full seventeen heartbeat's before she realized this fact, she opened her eyes for the first time in what seemed like hours since she had first woken up, and found herself looking at the wall that was next to her bed. Her arm was blurrily in her view, her fingers tingling with the chilled air as she receded the appendage back under the sanctity of the warm blankets. Again she pulled them up past her shoulders, and over her mouth, and swallowed a dry puddle of saliva in her mouth, which stung the back of her pallet as it made its way past.

_"Slow morning."_ She thought, staring up, out the window, past the lip of the covers in her view. _"Pretty gloomy outside…don't hear any thunder or rain…did it stop?" _She asked herself, lowering the sheets to get a better view. _"It did." _She observed, as the clear view came; clouds still littered the sky, but the sun was just barely visible as it left the small band of sky on the horizon.

She stood, the cold hitting her legs, arms, head, and feet like wildfire, and put her hands on the windowpane, as she pressed her face against chilly glass to see outside. Puddles of water, drowned paths, mud, sticks, stones, moss, trees; all were scattered on the ground as though they fell from the sky. But the water wasn't moving; where it had gathered on the indented ground and took the form of a stream the night before, it was now still.

"I gotta find the heater." Lilo stammered in a whisper, the chilly air finally taking its toll on her. She was too awake to lie back in bed now, and she wasn't about to freeze waiting for Stitch and Angel to wake up. She turned around on the bed, intending to slide off, but the two sleeping on the floor stopped her motion. Stitch and Angel lay asleep in each other's arms, peaceful smiles crossed their faces as though they were in heaven. "Aww." Lilo whispered to herself, as she took in the cute scene. She slowly and silently moved to the end of the bed and lightly placed her feet—first one, then the other—on the carpeted floor, her ankles popped as she moved to her heels.

She did the same on the risen floor, stepping down the little lip with one foot, carefully, then the other foot the same way, her ankles popping again as she stood normally. With a careful pace, and only a little noise as her heels hit the ground, she made her way to the platform that would take her down to the second floor. But, before she was halfway there, she heard Angel sleepily calling her name.

"Stitch is sleeping," Lilo whispered, turning around and putting a finger to her lips as Angel opened her eyes and sat up. "Sorry I woke you up." She said, coming back a few steps.

"_I don't think you did._" She said, lifting the covers and sliding out, stepping over the blue clump of fur as she made her way to Lilo. "_Should we wake him?_" She asked, pointing to Stitch, who began to snore.

"We wore his body out pretty badly last night," she said, "let's let him wake up on his own." Angel noted the 'we', and didn't understand what Lilo was talking about at first, but then she remembered that they switched bodies.

"Oketaka." Angel agreed, nodding her head.

"You want some breakfast?" Lilo asked rhetorically, taking Angel's hand.

"Suga." She replied, as she felt the floor move under her feet. "_It's gotten cold, are you ok? You're shivering._"

"I'm fine." Lilo stammered in a normal voice, now that she felt out of Stitch's relative hearing range.

"_You don't sound like it, but ok._" Angel replied, as the elevator stopped on the second floor. Lilo took off to the left, running to the thermostat on the wall. She turned it up a few degrees, and turned back as Angel stepped out.

"There, now it'll get warmer." She said, leading Angel down the hall.

"_You know, speaking of wearing Stitch's body out…what exactly happened last night? How did you two get sucked into the flood?_" Angel spoke, bringing up the question that had been in the back of her mind the night before.

"Long story," She said, "I'll tell you over breakfast. By the way, what do you want?" Lilo asked. "I have no idea what you eat, is there anything you'd like?"

"Anything," She said with great sternness, "_as long as it's not a sandwich._"

"What do you mean?" Lilo asked, a hint of humor in her voice.

"_If I ever see 625 again…_" Was all Angel needed to say, in order to send Lilo into hysterical laughter until they reached the kitchen. Angel smiled. Though, she didn't know why Lilo was laughing, she wasn't saying that to be comical, she was actually being quite serous.

"I forgot you stayed with Gantu and 625 for while." Lilo said, walking over to the cabinets.

"_I wish I could forget that…_" Angel whispered, her voice suddenly turning dry.

"Huh?" Lilo asked casually, as she turned around with two bowls in her hands.

"_Nothing._" Angel said, her tone returning to normal.

"Alright. Well, I hope you like cereal, because I can't really cook anything. I tried…but…" She thought back to the day she attempted to make scrambled eggs. "Well, let's just say that's something I won't be trying again for a very long time." She said, putting the bowls on the table and turning to the other cabinets where the cereal boxes were. "Take a seat." She told Angel, as she opened the cabinet. "You've got to be kidding me…" She said dully, as she peered at the contents.

"_What's wrong?_" Angel asked, leaving the chair and walking over to Lilo.

"All we have," she lifted out a plain tan box without a picture, "is Raison and Oat Delight."

"_The name sounds droll and contradicting to me._" Angel said, as she eyed the boring box.

"It is, and it tastes horrible too." Lilo sighed and put the box back in. "I wish we could cook some scrambled eggs…something warm would be perfect right now." Angel put a hand to her chin and scratched the tuft of fur under her jaw, thinking. Briskly she walked toward a bookstand she saw, and recognized a book on it as similar to one from on Gantu's ship. She took it from the stand, flipped a few pages, and read a recipe. All the while Lilo was eyeing her, wondering what she was doing, and stood up to look at what Angel was reading, but by the time she could see the picture on the page, Angel shut the book and looked toward her.

"Eh." She said, putting the book down on the counter, and running to the stove. She turned it on and while it heated went to the refrigerator and pulled out some butter. Then, she grabbed a spoon from the open drawer. She then put the butter into a little pot, that she had to hunt for through all the cabinets, and put the pot on the stove to let the butter melt.

Tapping the counter with her claws a few times, she surveyed the kitchen, and her eyes came upon Lilo, who was observing her silently. She gave a small smile and a nod, checked the pot's progress, and then went back to the refrigerator to get the carton of eggs.

"_Stitch will eat too._" She commented, to help figure out how many eggs to use. She took out six, cracked them, let the innards drip into the pot, and then placed the empty shells in the garbage, all with a systematic grace as though she'd done it a thousand times before. She took the spoon she'd used to cut the butter, and used it to fluff the eggs. After a little while, she went back to the fridge and got out a couple pieces of square-cheese, and ripped them up by use of her claws and added that to the pot as well. A few moments later she turned the stove off and looked toward Lilo, her face looked as if she was asking for approval.

"Wow…" Lilo simply stated, her shoulders slumped, and a look of moderated awe on her face. Angel grinned happily. "Where did you learn to cook?"

"_I had to. I refused to eat sandwiches on Gantu's ship, and they refused to cook anything else._" She replied, stretching her arms over her head. "_Let's go wake him up then._" She said, putting the pot on a different stove to let it cool. "_I think food can compensate for the lack of sleep. We _are_ talking about Stitch after all._" Lilo laughed with agreement at Angel's comment as she followed her upstairs.


	4. Scrambled Eggs

Passion

C/By: Kenjaje

Edited/Revised by: raVen

Chapter 4: Scrambled Eggs

"Shut up…" Murmured 625 as the beeping noise came to his ear. "Shut up…" he repeated, his voice airy as he was still very much asleep. "_Shu_-wha?" He snorted, quickly waking up. He let out an airy growl as he hopped out of his bed to stop whatever was beeping. "Whoa that's cold!" He screamed, slurring the sentence into one word as he jumped up off the ground and back on his bed.

"Would you be quiet?" Gantu shouted, stirred from his slumber.

"Well a good morning to you too." He replied. "Excuse me, but I think that beeping over there is a bit louder than I am." He said, raising his voice a little.

"Well then, go turn it off."

"I tried, but the floor is cold."

"Gloctad-5 forbid you walk on it to turn the annoyance off." Gantu snorted. "Fine, I'll do it." He threw the covers off him and scratched his sleek-skinned head, but before he could put his foot down on the ground, the beeping abruptly stopped. "Huh?" Gantu said, looking in the direction of the now ceased noise.

"How you two live is beyond me." Came a voice as a fog appeared in the air, taking the form of Zeus. "By the way, you two snore like the inhabitants of Omitok." Gantu growled. "Well, nonetheless I thank you for allowing me to stay. I believe that the beeping was an intergalactic transmission, you'd better answer it, I only put it on delay answering." Gantu rushed toward the console, shouted as the cold hit his feet, stumbled, and landed on the console, with 599 cackling at him. "I forgot to tell you, the island got a bit cooler since earlier this morning. Well, I'm off, I'll keep this area flood-free as promised." Zeus said, disappearing. Although, that didn't necessarily mean the experiment was gone.

"-And when I get my hands on you I'll…oh, you finally picked up." Came Hamsterveil's voice as Gantu pushed the button to receive the feed of the transmission. "Gantu, I wish to speak with you."

"This early?" He yawned.

"No he's just calling now to let you know he's going to annoy you later." Replied 625.

"Be quiet." Hamsterveil snapped.

"Touchy." 625 said, hopping out of the bed with the sheets under his feet. "I'm getting breakfast." He said as he left the room, shuffling toward the kitchen.

"Now then, Gantu, I wish to speak with you about a status report on the AC project." Hamsterveil spoke, the anger at 625 leaving his eyes.

"Status report? What status report?"

"This!" Hamsterveil exclaimed, his hand slamming down on a table that was off-camera.

"I…can't see it, sir." Gantu said.

"Oh. My apologies." Hamsterveil said, and then took up the entire screen as he adjusted the camera, took away the object on the table, and then spoke again. "This!" He slammed his hand on the table, and lifted it slowly. As light surrounded the object that was now revealed, Gantu realized what the rodent was talking about.

"A new model?" He asked curiously.

"Precisely. This one is far greater than the one used on 626. Why, just this _one _can replace the entire colony that we used on 626, and more."

"But we still don't understand why the prototype and previous model failed." Gantu pointed out.

"I believe we were on the right track with the prototype. It is much easier to build a vessel rather than take control of an already existing being, we just lacked something with the prototype."

"Like what?"

"That," Hamsterveil replied quickly, "I am still trying to figure out. But rest assured, this model will increase the power of an experiment to twenty times what 626 is capable of. As soon as it's perfect, we will dominate the Galactic Federation, and then, the universe!" He declared, going into an evil laughter, but eventually he fell over hacking due to a hairball in his throat. "I will contact you later," he wheezed, "But in the mean time, do not confront 626 and his little friend," he ordered, recovering from chocking, "occupying them with 599 was the perfect plan for now, so continue to stay out of sight."

"Yes sir, Gantu out." He said, pushing the button. He turned around and walked back to the bed. "Staying out of the way is perfectly fine by me." He said, falling over and instantly going back to sleep, completely oblivious to the pair of eyes that lofted against the ceiling, which now disappeared and left the ship.

"Ready…" Lilo chanted, "Set…" Stitch's eye twitched, and Angel took in a deep breath, "_Go!_" Lilo slammed her hand on the table and immediately two plates of bacon, toast, and egg flew into the air and were gobbled in one bite. "Stitch wins!" She exclaimed, raising his hand as he gulped a half-second before Angel.

"Thank you, thank you." He said, hopping up on the table and bowing.

"_Ok glutton, sit down before you break the table with your weight._" Angel teased, pushing him off.

"I have to admit, you two are almost a match." Lilo said, sitting down and picking up a fork. "If only I could eat like you two, I wouldn't have to waste so much time…"

"_It's ok, we can wait._"

"Eh." Stitch said. Lilo smiled, and dug into her egg.

"_Besides, you still need to tell me what happened. Did you two get washed far away, or was it only for a little while? And did you see Zeus?_"

"Hold on, hold on, one question at a time." Lilo put up her hand up to signal a pause in Angel's speech. "We'll start from the beginning, you help explain too, Stitch."

"Ju bud-ja." He replied.

"Well, you know about the fog, right?" Lilo asked toward Angel.

"_Of course, that's when I went to find Slushy to see if he was the cause of it._"

"Well we obviously know he wasn't." They all nodded. "Anyway, about that time, Stitch and I—me in his body—were walking back from Hula practice when we got lost. Even _his _eyes couldn't see very far. The next thing I can remember is losing Stitch, and then bumping into Zeus in the fog." She took another bite of her egg. "I thought he was going eat me or something, you should've seen the look in his eyes…like a ghost's. So, I ran away from him, and bumped into Stitch, and he said he found home."

"Oh," Stitch interrupted, "Stitch didn't _really _find home," he admitted, "Stitch found wall that looked like home, just was back in town." He finished, snickering to himself.

"Well, that doesn't really matter, you tried." Lilo said, reaching over the table and patting him on the head. "But, after that, we got home, talked to Jumba, and then went back out again. We knew we had to stop Zeus or else he would do something horrible, so we had to act fast…but we still weren't used to each other's bodies yet. We sort of rushed into it, I guess we should've taken the time to practice a little bit."

"Eh." Stitch agreed.

"I had all of Stitch's powers, and could use them, but I didn't know his limits, and I think that's what caused us to fail. Anyway, after the fog lifted and the storm came on, we ran under a huge rock to get away from the wind that was blowing stuff through the air like nothing," she waved her hands in the air to demonstrate the chaos, "so I said to Stitch, 'he must be where the storm is most severe,' and he told me to follow him and grabbed my hand." She paused to inhale deeply. "I don't know if Stitch knew where he was going, or if we were just running around on a wild goose-chase, but eventually, we found him."

"Oh yeah…" Stitch added, his tone implying the disastrous part of the story was coming.

"We sure did, and he kicked our can. I can't even remember what happened, I just remember leaping at him and then…well, maybe you should take it from here Stitch."

"Oketaka." Stitch said, jumping up on the table. "Lilo warns Zeus chitas, then jumped, but Zeus threw Lilo back when Lilo made contact, and lightning flashed, hitting him-"

"I don't remember that." Lilo countered.

"Ju enchujata." He said matter-of-factly.

"I was knocked out when you caught me because I hit my head!"

"Naga, Stitch remembers."

"Ok fine, keep going." Lilo said, waving her hand for him to continue. He told the rest of the story, acting out everything he narrated, slurred his speech, and switched between languages constantly, not to mention he nearly broke everything in the kitchen.

"Dego," he said, quieting down a bit, "Lilo took Stitch's hand to get away, but wave was too fast…" He looked at Lilo, and she looked back. Angel saw a gloomy expression shared upon their faces, as the memory of what happened after the flood swept them away came back, almost fearfully. "Then…Lilo save Stitch." He finished, his voice very calm as he dropped off the table back into his chair.

"_Interesting story._" Angel said, smiling. "_I wish mine was as exciting as that._"

"Why?" Lilo asked, her expression and tone back to normal. "What happened to you?"

"_…I…I fell in. After the other's suggested to come here, Fibber was swept away from where he was on the hill. I jumped in and rescued him quickly, but then current got more powerful and, well, they tried to save me but I was already too far out. Luckily though, I grabbed onto a tree root somewhere in a clearing, and I thought I recognized the place. Turns out it was close to here, but I can't remember where it was now._"

"I'm glad you're safe." Lilo said.

"Eh. Angel safe." Stitch agreed.

"_We're all safe for now._" She replied to them both. "_But hopefully, Zeus will be easy to catch now that you two are back to norma-_" A knock at the door interrupted Angel's sentence. Lilo hopped out of her chair and went to the door, Stitch behind her, and Angel a bit farther behind him. Angel scooted back a bit more, so as not to be seen by whoever was at the door as Lilo opened it.

"Cobra Bubbles?" Angel heard Lilo ask with surprise. "What are _you_ doing here?"

"I need to speak with Jumba Jookiba." Replied a deep, stern voice.


	5. Uncalled Meeting

Passion

C/By: Kenjaje

Edited/Revised by: raVen

Chapter 5: Uncalled Meeting

"Uh, right now? He might be asleep…" Lilo said, opening the door for Cobra to step in.

"I'm afraid," he said in a seemingly grim and impatient tone, "that this is too urgent. I'm sure he'll understand."

"R…right." Lilo stammered, looking uneasy. Whenever Bubbles came over it was always—and seemed only for—these 'urgent matters', and most of the time she and Stitch had to figure out what the matter was. However, it was painfully obvious to her this visit was involved with Zeus. "Stitch," she ordered, "show Mr. Bubbles in, I'll go get Jumba." And with that she was a red-and-white blur as she ran toward Jumba's room upstairs.

"Uh, oketaka." Stitch said, as he stared in the direction where Lilo zoomed by, his fur swaying a bit in the wind that followed her. He then stared back at Cobra and tugged on his pant leg. "Follow miga." He said hospitably. When he turned, he noticed Angel was fidgeting, turning her face away from Cobra as though she didn't want him to see her. As Cobra passed her however, he stopped—much to her disliking.

"You are…Angel?" He asked, pulling down his glasses to get a closer look.

"E…" She began to respond, but suddenly lost her breath. Swallowing the knot in her throat she straightened herself and passed it as a hiccup. "Eh." She responded, normally.

"I see, nice to finally meet you. Lilo said good things about you, such as your actions during the Achie-baba Kino incident." He said this while extending his hand, which Angel hesitantly shook. "And maybe now that you're here, you can shed some light on that incident, perhaps?" He whispered, a look of expectation for the word "yes" from her written on his face.

Stitch came back (for he had gone on into the kitchen not knowing that Cobra had stopped at Angel) and now saw the feared look in Angel's eyes, and the sweat dripping from the back of her neck as she stared up into Cobra's seemingly cold and empty face. At first he thought she was just uneasy about the way he was, for the man's manner had made him feel uncomfortable at times as well, but the look on Angel's face seemed deeper than just the first-impression fear.

"You…wanted to see me?" Came a voice from the stairs. All three of them turned around, Angel nearly jumping, and stared at Jumba. "Yeesh, what did I do? Blow up the house?" He asked, trying to lighten up some humor in the blank eyes that eerily watched him.

"Mr. Jookiba, Cobra Bubbles." Said Cobra, extending his hand.

"Yes, I am familiar." He said as he came down the steps, Lilo appearing out of thin air from behind him. He met Cobra's hand at the bottom of the stairs, and Lilo went over to Stitch and Angel, to listen in on the conversation. "What is it this time? I already keep telling you peoples, am not responsible for every explosion you hear on this island."

"I'm not here about that," Cobra said, not appearing to notice the sarcasm Jumba had thrown. "I'm here to discuss with you about the recent activated experiment-"

"599, yes?"

"Of course. It seems this one, as you know, causes floods. But recent reports have shown that some fires have come up as well. I've been sent to recover information so that we can insure the safety of the citizens."

"What 'information' are we talking about exactly?"

"I need to know everything about this experiment down to the letter, or at least what you can offer. Does it have any other powers? What are its capabilities, limits, weaknesses, attack patterns, where will it most often strike, anything."

"What's all the commotion?" Came Nani's yawning voice as she stepped up to the stairs and leaned on the railing. "Cobra?" She said with a slightly irritated tone of surprise, as she lifted her head from her crossed arms.

"Good morning, Nani." He responded.

"Let's just hope it stays that way." She commented, knowing that something had to be up. "What's with the little get-together?"

"And why wasn't _I _invited?" Pleakley asked, coming to the stairs as well. Cobra appeared to turn his head with discomfort at the full company.

"Relax everyone," came Lilo's voice as she raised her hands to bar the tangible confusion in the room, "Mr. Bubbles is just here to talk to Jumba about Zeus." She replied. "And Stitch and I are more than willing to give our first-hand encounter with him as well," she said excitedly, "right Stitch?"

"Eh."

"Ok," came Bubble's voice, "we'll get to your little story in a minute. Do you have any information for me, Jumba?"

"Is hard to say…" Jumba replied, scratching his chin. "599 is very flexible with powers, and am not remembering much about it…was going through tough times with ex-wife."

"Just tell me all you can."

"Well, 599's main purpose is to create storms. Everything from drizzles to roaring skies, which sometimes are black for three to four consecutive days."

"_What about the hail?_" Angel asked, her voice seeming to just come in to the conversation from out of nowhere. "_I was awake last night and I noticed that it was hailing, does Zeus have that power as well?_"

"Yes, most likely by cooling temperature of sky, is possible for 599 to create hail." Angel put a hand to her chin, as she thought of another question that bothered her.

"_What about lightning? Would Zeus be able to create lightning?_"

"Maybe 'power over storms' is too general," Jumba stated, "to being more specific, 599 has power over wind, water, and lightning. By using the sun—its weakness—to its advantage, 599 is able to create clouds from the evaporated water. Those clouds will offer protection from the sun, and also be 599's key tool in creating the storms. Although, it takes quite a long time to create these clouds—depending on the existing weather—and once all the clouds are gone, 599 will have to restart from scratch."

"Is that why it's not raining right now?" Lilo asked, noticing the sky was merely gloomy outside.

"Precisely." Jumba replied.

"And, the fires?" Cobra questioned.

"Fires?"

"There have been numerous reports of fires due to lightning strikes, and also there was threat of a hurricane as well. Could this experiment have the power to affect all nature around it?"

"Well, have never really taken it to mind, but I am supposing that lightning could strike trees or plants and cause fires, and the winds can cause tornados and hurricanes…and we already know that the power over water causes floods…"

"Tsunamis?" Lilo asked, with a bit of dread in her tone.

"Not possible." Jumba said immediately. "599 has no capabilities of creating seismic waves whatsoever."

"Very well then. Now…how can we stop 599?" Cobra asked.

"Stitch and me can do it!" Lilo said, stepping forward.

"I'm sorry Lilo," Cobra replied to her, "I cannot allow you to come into any danger. This experiment is far too risky to catch, I'll have the capture arranged-"

"But, you need us. We've caught all the experiments so far, what's so different about this one? Besides, Stitch is there to protect me." She pointed at Stitch, who stood a bit straighter.

"Little girl has point. Why not? 626 will make sure she is-"

"No." Replied Nani. "I don't know if you remember last night, Jumba. We drove past three _rivers _of flooding on our way home, and Lilo could have gotten caught in one of them." Angel heard this and leaned over to Stitch.

"Didn't _you two get caught in one though?_" She whispered.

"Eh," he replied, "but left that out for Nani."

"_You didn't tell her?_" Stitch shook his head.

"But Nan-" Lilo began to retort.

"No buts; end of story." Nani hissed, folding her arms.

"Then it's settled." Cobra spoke, "But I still need to know if there's an alternative to capturing 599 without the use of the sun, because it seems to me that we can't rely on the forces of nature to help us out at this moment."

"Am not sure. 599 is composed of water, and so the best method would be to evaporate 599, but without a source of heat that would be impossible."

"Heat?" Pleakley asked rhetorically. "Why not try a hairdryer?"

"Wait a minute!" Lilo shouted, stepping forward, "You want to _evaporate _Zeus? I don't know what that really means, but I don't like the sound of it. Whatever you do, _don't _hurt the little cousin."

"Lilo-" Nani began in order to stop the outburst, but Cobra let up a hand.

"She's right. I don't want the experiment hurt."

"Hurt shmurt." Said Jumba. "I must've evaporated 599 hundreds of billions of times. 599 is composed of water, and as long as there is enough to give it its form, it will come back." The group merely looked at him blankly. "Besides, only little evaporation will be sufficient enough to weaken the experiment in order to capture it. Is like, making it drowsy." He explained, searching for the right words.

"Well, ok. I suppose just making it drowsy to capture won't hurt it." Lilo said, satisfied.

"Exactly. And thanks to Pleakley coming up with random, ingeniously intelligent suggestion of using earth hair-fixing devices—"

"—Hairdryers." Pleakley corrected.

"Right, hairs-dryer, capture will be simple. But…"

"But what?" Cobra asked.

"But, am thinking that little tiny devices will not be sufficient _enough_."

"Well, it's worth a shot, but in case it fails…do you have something in mind?" He question further.

"_Do_ I?" Jumba laughed. "Of course I have alternative. But, will be needing bit of time to work it out. Should be done by this evening if we haven't caught 599 by then."

"We won't need it, Stitch and I will-" Lilo began, but Nani came in mid-sentence.

"You aren't doing _anything_, remember? In fact, you're coming with me to the store so that I know you don't go with Stitch." Nani said, coming down the stairs and taking Lilo's wrist. She tried to pull away but Nani was too strong.

"If I don't go who'll go in my place? Stitch and I are a team!"

"Well the 'team' is going to have to split apart. If this experiment causes any more floods I want to be prepared, and seeing as how we have a new guest in the house which I only found out about five minutes ago," she nodded her head toward Angel, "the fridge will need to be restocked." Lilo stopped her struggle and let her arm fall to her side.

"Ok…" She said, giving up the argument.

"Good, now go get ready and meet me in the car." Nani said sweetly as she pushed Lilo in the direction of the stairs. "And as for you," she said, looking at Angel, "I can't exactly remember every single one of you little monsters by name…or number…or whatever you go by, but if you're going to stay here you'll have to obey the rules, got it?"

"Eh." Angel said, immediately. Nani let out a sigh as she smiled, and promptly exited out the front door. Jumba convinced Cobra to follow him outside and help with the project he had planned, and Pleakley ran to get all the hairdryers in the house, which left only Angel and Stitch in the room. "_I guess since Lilo can't come, I'll go experiment-hunting with you._" She said, looking at Stitch, who had remained contemptuously quiet and smiling the whole time. "_Is it hard?_" She asked.

"Naga," he replied putting a hand on her shoulder, "Angel do fine." She smiled with confidence and quickly hugged him. "After all," he said lightly, as he let go and walked toward the stairs, "if Angel can protect Lilo from Stitch, cousins should be coconut cake piece."


	6. A Work In Progress

Passion

C/By: Kenjaje

Edited/Revised by: raVen

Chapter 6: A Work In Progress

"All right, now these run on two (whatever that earth-letter is) cylindrical electrical storage containers and generators. They hold a sufficient supply of power and are small and compact so if the power is drained you can simply switch them out." Pleakley explained to Stitch and Angel, whom were listening with curious faces.

"They're called 'batteries'." Jumba chimed in, as he passed them on the way out of his room. "When you're through here be meeting me outside, Pleakley. Am needing your assistance."

"With what?"

"You'll be finding out." He replied with a chuckle as he left the room. Stitch took the hair dryer in Pleakley's hands and examined it from all angles. Noting the switch on the interior of the handle, he flipped it, and was rewarded with a blast of hot air straight at his eyes.

"Be careful!" Pleakley shouted, turning it off and snatching it away. "Only use these when you need to." Calmly Pleakley unfolded his fingers from the dryer to allow Stitch to take it gently, which he did. He then had a quick grin on his face as Pleakley turned around to dig out some more. The next thing Pleakley knew, the dryer that Stitch had turned on, and flew a fraction of an inch past his cheek, Stitch was laughing, and Angel was a poof-ball of a mess.

"_That was completely unnecessary!_" Angel barked; her shoulders rose and her fists clenched as Stitch clasped his sides and fell onto his back, rocking to and fro with laughter. Angel let out a frustrated growl, but soon found she was giggling along with him as well.

"Here," Pleakley said, ignoring the close call of the dryer, "they're all fully charged and ready to go. Good luck." He bid them, as he left the room before some other chaos would erupt in another close call to his head. The sound of a car starting in the front lawn let everyone in the house know that Lilo and Nani were leaving to the store; Stitch composed himself and began to turn serious upon hearing the engine rev.

"Oketaka." Stitch said grabbing a hairdryer and giving to Angel. "Agato."

"Dalagu." She thanked, as he turned and picked up four for himself.

"Ready?" He asked, turning around. His gaze was met with the barrel of the dryer in Angel's hands, and a wave of heat brushed over his body as she gave him the same treatment he gave her.

"_Ready._" She said with a satisfied grin, as Stitch looked back at her, his fur now a massive ball of fluff like hers. He shook his head to get it out of his eyes, and sucked in his lower arms—dryers and all—and held onto the other two with one hand.

"Let's go." He said miserably, trying to shrug off the humiliation at being countered with his own prank.

Scruff the doll shifted with a rustle, as Lilo set her aside. Lilo sat with her elbow on the rest next to the door in the car, her chin sitting on the palm of her other hand, her fingers drumming at her lower lip. She stared out into the day—or at least what day there was in all the gloom that hovered in an omnipresent mass.

"Why such a long face, Lilo?" Nani asked, as she turned the wheel in her hands.

"I wanted to help Stitch and Angel." She replied casually. "But…seeing as how I have an annoying sister…"

"Hey, come on now." Nani snapped with a soft voice. "After what danger you could have gotten yourself into last night; I'm just worried you'll get hurt. That's why I made you come with me, because now I can make sure you're safe." She reached over and pet Lilo on the head, hoping to get a response out of the melancholy girl.

"I suppose that's a good enough reason." Lilo sighed. "But Stitch could've protected me."

"This experiment causes floods, and Stitch won't be able to help you if you two get caught in one, because if you do, Stitch might drown." Nani explained. "But," she continued again, after a moment's pause, "I suppose I am kind of ruining your fun. I mean, its not like you two had to escape out of some kind of danger like a fire or something while you were body-switched, right?" She said hypothetically. Lilo's eyes widened.

_"Does she _know _we got trapped in a fire? No, how could she, we left that part out! …I hate big sisters…" _She thought with a sigh.

"You're awfully quiet."

"Hm? Oh, I'm just still tired; I didn't get much sleep. I kept waking up over and over again." Lilo replied. A drop of rain hit the window next to her, right where her eyes were looking, and almost immediately a downpour followed.

"Oh great…he's back in action. Just what we need." Nani commented with an aggravated tone.

"_It's starting to rain._" Angel said, as she felt a drop hit her head. "_Boy is it starting to rain!_" She paused to look up, but only for a split second, and when her head came back down Stitch was already far ahead of her. "_Hey wait up!_" Clutching the hairdryer under her armpit she strode behind Stitch, following him at only a few steps behind.

"Dotchata." He said quickly and quietly, as though someone were listening to them. She stopped as he commanded, and watched as he peered the sky. Thunder and lightning began to echo across the stretch of land they were on. It was a very open field with trees all around, but they would have to run for about four minutes before they reached the edge of the stretch.

"_What are you looking for?_" Angel asked, as she noticed Stitch was peering into the sky.

"Eh." He pointed up at an angle in front of him, seemingly arbitrarily. Angel looked in the direction of his finger, but had to search the sky and zoom in with her eyes before she realized what he was pointing at. High above, small, and yet oddly vivid in the sky, were a pair of eyes inside a cloud. "Zeus." He said.

"That's _Zeus?_"

"Well, sort of…come on." He motioned for her to follow him, and after ten booming thunderclaps, he told her to stop again. "Ju katashka?"

"_No, I'm not scared of the storm…not with you around._" She replied.

"Good. Zeus might be Angel's worst chooboo-ba." He said.

"_Thanks for the warning._" She commented, looking up into the sky to find Zeus. As her vision came to the horizon she noticed that they were on a part of the land overlooking the water, a small cape. She turned around to look again, and spotted the floating pair of eyes high above them. "_There he his._" She pointed, patting Stitch's shoulder. "_But…how do we get him down here?_"

"Like this," he said, inhaling deeply, "Hasha! Miga no-legweesta!" He shouted, his voice echoing a few times. The pair of eyes immediately looked down upon them, and then disappeared.

"_Great, that did it, he's gone._" Angel sniffed.

"Naga, macca-macca." Angel did, and saw a tiny black dot in the air. It seemed to be falling toward them very quickly, nearly doubling in size every three seconds. Finally Angel was able to make out what it was: a body, falling from out of nowhere. Though she was surprised beyond belief, Stitch gazed at the falling silhouette as if studying it rather than in awe. "_Move!_" Stitch shouted, pushing Angel out of the way and backing up himself, with the body of Zeus crashing between them.

Angel gasped as Zeus made contact with the ground, and could only sit stunned as a puff of smoke—or fog rather—mushroomed its way through the air. As the vapor cleared, Angel squinted to see the shadow inside the pillar of the mushroom. Zeus appeared slightly taller than her, and the fog seemed to symbolize an aura of power emanating from him, as he stood relaxed yet confident. Finally, the air cleared around him, and Angel could see what he looked like; fur as gray as the sky itself, and slightly translucent, eyes completely opaque and blank, and a strong build. Angel noticed another thing that was quite the opposite of what she was expecting..

"This _is Zeus?_" She asked rhetorically to Stitch, her eyes squinting with surprise. "_I don't think you should have said Zeus was a he…because _he's _a _she."

"We won't be here for that long, ok? I've just got to pick up a few things, and then we'll go straight back home. Now you can go pick out something you want, but _don't _leave the store. Understand?"

"Yes Nani." Lilo replied, not looking at her sister for a second. Nani kissed her hair and immediately disappeared into the crowd of shoppers. "I don't understand her." Lilo said aloud, as she turned and walked past the isles, while talking to Scruff. "She tells me she wants me to go to the store so she can keep an eye on me, and then when we get here she just says for me to go off on my own? …Sisters…" She sighed with confusion about the logic. "Well, what do you want to get?"

She held up Scruff to listen for her answer, but nothing came. Again Lilo sighed—this time of boredom—and dropped Scruff back down to her side as she walked past more isles. Tools, supplies, fruits, cereals, snacks, breads, poultry, meat, animal food, nothing seemed interesting; until she came upon a familiar wooden stand at the end of an isle. She gazed up at the display, and suddenly wondered if this was where she was headed for all along.

"Maybe…" She thought aloud, passing over the items hung from the different pegs, trying to spot what she was looking for. "Aha! There it is." She said with glee, pointing at what she'd found. In the very back of one of the hooks, close to the middle of the display box, surrounded by a mass quantity of the same item but with different colors, was the last white-stoned pendant in the display.


	7. Kiss

Passion

C/By: Kenjaje

Edited/Revised by: raVen

Chapter 7: Kiss

All this time she'd been masked by fog, by a cloud, or been a shadow against the sky; Stitch honestly wasn't expecting Zeus to be a girl. His mouth parted slightly from awe, but quickly he dropped his surprise. Angel was standing still, about a foot and a half away from Stitch, with Zeus in between them off to the side.

"Zeus," Stitch said calmly, raising a hairdryer, "naga agatooka, don't want to hurt." Zeus turned her face to look at Stitch, and smiled. Stitch flinched at the gesture, but pointed both dryers as he recovered. "Not joking. Don't make Stitch-" A crackle of lightning made Stitch jump slightly, and his hand flew back with recoil as the dryer it held exploded with a tiny _pop_.

"_Stitch!_" Angel yelled, hoping he wasn't hurt. She saw him step back to get his balance, and then leap forward to latch on to Zeus—his efforts were in vain. When in range, he clicked on the dryer; the hot air blew out immediately, but didn't seem to affect Zeus at all. As he neared her, Zeus gripped the barrel of the dryer, and her hand melted away rather quickly. An expression of surprise came over her eyes as she saw her hand disappearing. She sent a bolt of electricity through the device, which sent Stitch flying backward, landing hard on the ground.

Angel rushed over in the blink of an eye to pick him up, but by the time she got there he was already halfway to his feet on his own. Propping him over her shoulder she lifted him the rest of the way, and panned his body for any injuries.

"I'm okay." He said, noticing Angel's worriment. "I'm fluffy." Angel smiled. Even in a very serious moment like this he was still the same old Stitch. He looked back to where Zeus was; she was inspecting the smoking hairdryer—distracted. Stitch looked back at Angel and nodded his head toward Zeus, signifying he had a plan. He slid out of her arms and slithered toward the experiment, who didn't seem to notice him.

Angel stared as she tried to figure out what Stitch's plan was; he was going to surprise Zeus from behind that much she knew, but what was her part? She shifted the hairdryer that was hidden under her arm.

_"Wait, that's it!" _She realized.

"Angel, juegata!" She heard Stitch shout, as he came up from behind Zeus and ensnared the experiment. His upper arms went under her arms and looped around to the back of her neck, and one lower arm, holding his third hairdryer, went around her stomach, to keep her from struggling. Angel, now acting on impulse, leapt forward, and at point-blank range, turned on the dryer in her hands.

Stitch muffled something, and Angel lowered the appliance to hear what he was saying. Upon seeing Stitch, she realized that there was something missing—Zeus. Angel turned around just in time to see Zeus form from a puddle on the ground; rising up and striking the dryer in her hand, sending it to the ground in pieces. Angel quickly tried to duck away, but was too late, and in a flash she found herself enveloped in some sort of restraint that Zeus had fabricated from another puddle on the ground under Angel's feet. She was unable to move, and Zeus was now making her way toward Stitch.

"You want _another _one?" Nani asked, holding the pendant by the strap to examine it as it rotated.

"Yeah." Said Lilo.

"What did you do with the other one? Are you starting a new collection or something?"

"Uh…yeah, that's it. Actually, it's for Stitch, he likes them a lot, and I thought it might be time he started a hobby." Lilo was glad for the little excuse; the real reasons for the pendants were somewhat personal, and even though Nani would probably think it was a nice idea, she was still a bit shy about revealing their symbolism.

"Well, I think it's great the little monster has a hobby. By the way, you forgot to tell me your camera was full, so I took the liberty of developing the pictures for you." Nani said, as she handed Lilo the packet of photos.

"Thanks Nani." Lilo said happily, hugging her sister.

"You're welcome. I've still got a few more things to get, you want to come?"

"Sure." Lilo said, taking the pendant from Nani and following her sister down the isles. She opened the packet and looked through the pictures, all of which were of either tourists, or experiments.

Zeus walked slowly toward Stitch, who tried to stand as relaxed as possible in case she would try to attack him. She seemed aggressive, and remembering what occurred the night before, Stitch knew she was full of surprises. He stopped himself midway in taking a step back; he didn't want Zeus to be able to predict what he was going to do. Angel was captured, lying on the ground; something surrounded her body up to her shoulders, only allowing her neck to move. It was translucent and blue. Stitch assumed it was either water or some kind of gel.

"What's wrong, afraid I'll attack you?" Zeus asked. Her voice was oddly calm; she was actually asking the question rather than trying to sound provoking.

"_Oh, so she can talk._" Angel jibed, trying to struggle to get free. Zeus shot a glance back at her, and the gel surrounding Angel's shoulders crawled up past her lower jaw, freezing it in place, and disabling her ability to speak.

"Egata!" Stitch snapped, raising his hands to a stance.

"Calm down." Zeus ordered. "I'm not here to fight." She took another step forward, and put a hand on Stitch's closest fist, pushing it down.

"Naga jokita?" Stitch asked perplexedly. "Gaba metooka chakatu?" Stitch asked with disbelief.

"I wasn't _trying _to attack you last night! I was trying to get you alone." Stitch's eyes bulged for a second; silently asking Zeus what she was talking about. "I suppose I should explain myself, shouldn't I?" She asked rhetorically. Stitch noticed she was acting rather strange, almost embarrassed, or shy. He also noticed that droplets of water seemed to melt off of her like ice cream; he wondered if she was sweating.

"Explain…what?" Stitch asked. Zeus looked away for a second, trying to shoot a glance at Angel, but then turned her head back to Stitch and grabbed his hand.

"I'm pretty sure by our encounter last night, that you know who I am. Well, to be truthful, I know who you are, 626." Stitch blinked his eyes.

_"Is she trying to be formal?_" He thought. "Stitch," he said to her, "my name Stitch." She smiled back at him. _"How does she know me?"_

"Stitch then. But, more to the point, I've seen you many times since I've been activated. And, even though I've only seen you, except for last night when we met face-to-face…well…" Her speaking pace seemed to speed up as she continued, and Stitch noticed that the hand she held on to was beginning to get soaked.

_"What is she talking about?"_ Angel thought, as she ceased her struggle to get free. It was impossible to get out of whatever she was in. It felt like ice, except it wasn't cold. She tried to move her arms and legs but couldn't get a shift out of them. She was thankful she could still breathe though, and stared curiously at Zeus and Stitch. _"She's been 'watching' him? And why is she holding his hand like that? …Wait a minute…"_

"After I saw how you rescued your friend, I realized that you weren't so evil, like Gantu had said you were. To be quite honest, I think you're very brave, and I kind of like that." She said with a blush. "I don't know exactly how to say this without you thinking I'm crazy but…I love you."

_"What!" _Angel's mind shouted with surprise, as she widened her eyes and raised her pupils up to see Zeus and Stitch's heads. But she immediately regretted looking at them now. Inside of her chest, Angel's heart skipped a beat, as she saw Zeus kissing Stitch on the lips.

"Jumba, Pleakley, we're home!" Lilo shouted as she kicked the front door open. Expectedly, no one was there to hear her. She shrugged her shoulders and continued in, her arms carrying two bags of her and Nani's goods. She hopped up on the kitchen table chair upon reaching it and dropped the bags on the table itself. She immediately began sifting through the one she knew contained the pendant, and pulled it out with a jerk as it got stuck around the milk jug. No sooner than had it slid free did Lilo jump down and bolt up the stairs to the elevator.

"Stitch, are you here?" She yelled, before she stepped inside. She waited a few seconds but didn't hear an answer. "Must be outside." She said to herself, as she ran down the stairs and out the back door. "Stitch!"

"Little girl?" Came Jumba's voice almost immediately.

"Jumba?" She asked, running around the house to the back where Jumba's voice originated.

"Hello little girl. Back from market-shopping so soon?"

"Yeah, have you seen Stitch?" Lilo asked in one breath.

"No, have not seen 626 since he left for to capture 599." Jumba replied. His attention was soon turned to Pleakley screaming, and of what sounded like Cobra's voice telling him to be careful. "Eh…One moment." He told Lilo as he jogged behind the bushes. Lilo followed him curiously through the greenery, and came upon what looked like a usual project Jumba was working on. Pleakley, she found, was wrapped around inside a giant fan, and Cobra was trying to help him out.

"What are you guys doing?" Lilo asked, as Cobra finally pulled Pleakley's wiry body out of the fan.

"Pleakley and Mr. Bubblies-"

"For the last time, it's _Bubbles_." Cobra interrupted, standing straight and stolidly as he always did.

"Right, _Bubbles_." Jumba confirmed. "Anyway, we are working on device that will help capture 599." Jumba tossed the towel he picked up to wipe his hands while speaking, and proceeded over to the fan; Lilo following.

"But I thought Stitch and Angel were going to capture Zeus. I mean I still don't understand why we need to make something if we might not need it. And what's it supposed to _be _anyway? You've been keeping it a secret ever since you mentioned it this morning." She said, turned to the buggy next to her—which was where the focus of the project seemed to be—and lifted up the hood.

"Would take too long to explain exactly, but, 626 and 624 may be able to find and evaporate 599, but will not be able to evaporate experiment enough to weaken it. Will be needing much more heat."

"And that's what you're making? A giant heat-generator?"

"Exactly." Jumba replied. "Alright, break time over, back to work." He said to Cobra and Pleakley. "Little girl should wait inside for 626 and 624, is very dangerous out here; older sibling would have Jumba's head if she found little girl was around such dangerous equipment."

"Alright," Lilo said, rolling her eyes, "I guess I'll update the experiment log while I wait." She parted the bushes and leapt back through, heading back toward the house. Before she got to the door, an explosion sounded off, and she heard Jumba screaming with frustration. Giggling to herself, she opened the door, and headed inside.


	8. Shattering Tension

Passion

C/By: Kenjaje

Edited/Revised by: raVen

Chapter 8: Shattering Tension

Stitch hadn't even seen it coming until it happened; one moment he was looking at Zeus, trying to figure out why she was so nervous, and the next he felt her lips against his. He was frozen when the realization hit him; he couldn't even react he was so frightened, like his brain had just stopped working.

Angel froze as well but not with the same emotion. Her eyes squinted as she saw Zeus wrap her arms around Stitch's back. Angel saw the look in Stitch's face; he was more impacted by the gesture than she was. She tried to convince herself this wasn't happening, a rising panic swelling in her stomach.

_"He's surprised. That doesn't mean he likes it. In a few seconds he'll break away, and tell her that he loves me." _Said Angel's mind. Her body, however, wasn't listening. _"Look, see, he's struggling to get free." _A ping of relief came through her as she saw Stitch try to move; he put his arms against Zeus and tried to break away, but as soon as each of his three hands made contact, they all went through her skin. The uprising in Angel's heart was soon slammed against a wall as she saw Stitch try to get free, but his arms were stuck inside of Zeus' body. Angel wanted desperately to see him get loose, but to her disdain she saw Stitch relax, and close his eyes, giving in.

_"No…" _Angel thought sadly, as the feeling in her body was sapped away. Her arms and legs were numb in the warm ice, her breathing slowed, her heart began to pound softly, and her eyes squinted viscously. _"No." _Her mind repeated, this time stern and coldly. She focused her quivering eyes on Zeus, and a great anger rose about her. She felt her arms and legs again, as the blood pulsed through her veins with her ever-increasing heartbeat; this time she didn't have anything to calm herself down; if Stitch wasn't going to break away, _she_ was going to sever them herself.

Frustrated, she tried to move; nothing was able to even shift inside the block of warm ice she was in. She blinked the water out of her eyes, and twitched the drops off of her ears. Again she tried to move, tensing her arms and legs, hoping to somehow budge. But she was straining, and soon she was too tired to try. Her heart felt like it was going to explode, and her lungs burned with the cold air that came in through her nostrils. It was scary in its own way, being paralyzed wasn't something she was expecting, or used to.

As she lay trying to regain her strength, she felt unusually hot. The throbbing in her neck told her it was because she was angry, and staring at Zeus only made her even more enraged. Inside the ice she tried again, and this time, felt her arm move, but only slightly. When it did, water dripped over her fur. It _was _ice; and cold or not, her anger was melting it.

Stitch couldn't tell how long he'd been kissing now; his mind had blanked, and the only thing he could think about was Angel. He knew she was there, but was she watching? He wanted to open his eyes, and look for her, but that would mean looking at Zeus. He didn't want to admit it, but he was beginning to like the gesture passed to him by her. He wanted to get away, wanted to tell Zeus that he was already in love, but he already tried to escape, and failed.

Just when he started to feel Zeus break away—just when he felt his hands slide out from her oddly permeable body—he heard Angel growl with anger, and heard something shatter to his left. His eye shot open, barely catching Angel, now a pink blur heading toward them. He felt her hand push him away from Zeus, sending him to the ground. He hit the dirt flat on his back, his fourth arm shot out involuntarily, and the hairdryer that it concealed fell a distance from him.

His upper arms lifted him up, but that's as far as he could go; he was too awestruck by Angel's sudden outburst to move any more. He saw her try to throw Zeus to the ground, but she turned into a puddle and reformed behind Angel in the blink of an eye. Zeus tried to put Angel in the same hold Stitch used before, but Angel was surprisingly quick; in a single turn she attacked, swiping a claw across Zeus' skin.

That action gave Stitch enough reason to stand, Angel was angry enough to hurt Zeus. He began to run over, expecting to see blood, but what he really saw astonished him. It was like Zeus' body had turned into the ocean; as Angel's claw slashed through her again, water splashed on to the ground. To Angel, it was like clawing at a wave—everything just went through. Zeus didn't appear to feel pain, and everywhere Angel struck, her body brought itself back together again. Angel struck several more times, but at one point, Zeus quickly caught Angel's attack, and held her.

"_What _are you doing?" Zeus asked, with the attitude of speaking to a lunatic. "It's very unruly to interrupt a love-declaration."

"_You don't get it do you?_" Angel muttered, leering at Zeus. "_If you knew Stitch so well you'd realize that he loves _me."

"If he does, then why did you leave him yesterday when you met him in the field? It seems to me you don't love him very much." _That _was something Stitch knew Zeus shouldn't have said. Stitch felt the palpable, silent anger emanating from Angel as she bared her teeth. Stitch couldn't tell what to do, but dared not get any closer lest he receive friendly fire from the fight. But it was of _Zeus_ whomhe should have been wary of.

With a fierce roar Angel tried to escape the grasp held on her wrist, and punched through Zeus' skin in the process. She felt the familiar warm-ice feeling as her hand was sucked in, and wasn't let out. She knew that her body heat would eventually melt enough of the shell away allowing her enough room to move around and break free like she did before. But this time, she was inside Zeus, and so she expected that method not to work.

She felt a tingle on her hands; at first it felt like a tickle, but then it gradually grew to a buzz across her fur, all the way around her body. At first she thought it was the fog that wafted constantly around Zeus' figure, but then she felt the sparks wash over her body, and the static electricity that made her fur stand on end.

"Angel!" Stitch shouted, as he saw what was going on. Shock by lightning was not a pleasant thing, and he wasn't about to let Angel have it done to her, even if it meant getting himself shocked, again. Without a second thought he vaulted over the two, his toes barely a foot away from the drop-off of the cape, and turned around, grabbing Zeus' wrists, and absorbed the shock just as she sent the electric wave. A flash, and then darkness; Stitch fell over, knocked out.

"No, Stitch!" Zeus cried, releasing Angel, as she saw her presumed boyfriend fall to the ground. "Look what you did!" She shouted to Angel.

"_What _I _did?_" She said, barely believing how Zeus could accuse her of the fault. "_Stitch was knocked out because he was trying to stop _you _from shocking me._"

"But…he's…" Zeus began to get teary-eyed.

"_He's fine._" Angel said lowly. "_You on the other hand-_" Zeus wasn't interested in what Angel was about to say, she'd had quite enough of the pink interrupter, and wanted nothing more than to drive her away. But Angel was ready, and when Zeus tried to restrain her again, she wrenched herself free from the grasp and threw Zeus down with ease. _"All that training with Gantu really paid off." _She thought to herself. _"Even though I don't want to admit it."_

Angel readied herself for Zeus' rebound, and braced her back foot against the ground, but felt her heel bump into something. She glanced behind her to see a hairdryer lying on the ground like a godsend. The scream that Zeus emitted snapped Angel's attention back, and she was just able to dodge the attack.

Ducking a fraction of an inch below Zeus' claws, Angel fell to her left knee and swooped down, picked up the hairdryer with her left hand, and struck Zeus with her right. Again, like hitting a wave, water splashed from the semisolid body into streaks as the remnant water escaped the mother body. But this time Angel wasn't intending to try claw Zeus; she was intending to blow away as much of the walking water balloon as she could.

Stitch snapped awake just in time to see Angel follow through her attack with a blast from the hairdryer. Zeus broke free as the wave of heat disintegrated her right arm, and backed up to the edge of the cape. She looked down, water crashed against the rocks below.

_"Perfect." _She thought. Angel came closer, but not as slowly as Zeus would have liked. She turned around to see the barrel of the dryer appear almost point-blank from her face. "I _will _win Stitch." She declared, as she dropped off the ledge and splashed into the water.

"_He's not some kind of prize to win, and he's already mine!_" Angel shouted, but it was merely an airy yell. She dropped her arms and let go of the dryer, which fell off the edge of the cape. Angel heard a noise behind her and turned around, her eyes still gleaming with anger.

Stitch flinched as though he'd just been caught for some kind of crime, or out of fear from Angel's gaze. Whichever one she couldn't tell, but she didn't drop it as she took a step forward. Stitch backed away, walking like a crab on his palms, and a look of guilt came over his face.

Angel tried to tell him not to leave, but before she could speak he scurried to his feet and bolted for it. Angel put her hand up as she tried to yell for him to stop, like she was trying to reach for him, but she was too out of breath to say anything beyond a whisper. As she saw Stitch turn into a mere blur in the distance, she dropped her reaching hand and closed her eyes, wondering why he ran away.

"Well, that's all the experiments. The log is updated and the scrapbook is complete so far." Lilo said, shutting the book of pictures. "_Now_ what do I do?" Idly she looked over at the clock; it was nearing two-thirty, Stitch and Angel were gone for nearly an hour and a half. "I hope nothing happened to them." She thought aloud. "If only Nani would've let me go, then I wouldn't be so worried about them!" She screamed with a frustrated groan. "But, if I _did _go with them, I wouldn't have been able to get Angel's pendant." She retorted with a happy chime.

Upon mentioning it, she picked it up off the floor, and dangled it in front of her to look at the stone. It wasn't completely white; specs of black, gray, tan, and pink blended together on the polished surface. Though she wished she could have picked from a selection, it was the only one left, and she wanted to get it for Angel.

_"But how to give it to her?" _She thought, standing up to put it on the bedside table. _"I'll think about that over some lunch. Come to think of it, I should feed Pudge today, I think Nani got some peanut butter at the store." _Lilo went downstairs as she thought to herself, tapping her bare foot against the ground of the elevator as it whirred to the second floor. _"And maybe by the time I get back, Stitch and Angel will be home._"

Another explosion sounded off, probably the fifth or sixth one she'd heard that afternoon. She laughed to herself as she walked down the hall and reached the stairs. One by one she stepped down, rather quickly. She didn't see anyone in the house; it'd been quiet since she got home. Nani went to lie down, but she knew her sister wouldn't get any sleep with all the eruptions going on outside.

Humming her favorite song to herself as she entered the cool-tiled room, and made her way to the breadbox. Nearly seven loaves of bread were inside and on top of it; one already opened. Underneath was the peanut butter, which she put on the counter, and on the other side of the kitchen she went to get a knife and a plate.

A few minutes and three bread slices later (the first one broke because an eruption scared her), she finally had a peanut butter sandwich ready to eat. But another noise piqued her attention; the front door burst open and slammed shut, and a noise like someone keeling over came from the living room. Lilo rushed over to see what it was, and saw Stitch panting on the floor.

"Stitch?" She asked, trying to help him up. "What happened, where's Zeus?" She thought for a second, and then glanced around. "Where's _Angel_?"


	9. A Friend's Consoling

Passion

C/By: Kenjaje

Edited/Revised by: raVen

Chapter 9: A Friend's Consoling

"What is it?" Gantu shouted as he heard a fierce pounding come from the ship's door. He jammed the button with his huge finger, and met Zeus' glaring face. "599." He said, half expectantly. "What brings you back here?"

"There's something I want to ask Dr. Hamsterveil." She said through gritted teeth. Gantu sensed her tension, and was therefore uneasy about letting her contact Hamsterveil; more so, she didn't state a business. However, he put his uneasiness aside and allowed Zeus through; if she showed any sign of hostility toward Hamsterveil he'd be able to set her straight (or so he thought).

Immediately Zeus went to the communications monitor, and to Gantu's surprise, typed in what was needed in order to contact Hamsterveil, even the top secret-highly classified-password. This action made Gantu even more unsettled, she was somehow acquiring knowledge that no one else should have.

"Yes, what is…it?" Hamsterveil's ears perked a bit higher as he saw 599 appear on his monitor, when he expected to see Gantu. "599…what is it _you_ have contacted me for?"

"Dr. Hamsterveil, I am aware that you have something which can boost an experiment's power. Yet, from the conversation I overheard this morning, it appears that it is not tested to be a stable method." Hamsterveil's eyebrows raised, and he folded his hands in front of him, placing his elbows on the edge of his floating pod.

"Go on…" Zeus quickly thought of Angel, and gritted her teeth tighter, before she responded with a slow, steady voice.

"I'll be your guinea pig."

The elevator hummed quietly as Lilo rose to the tower. Her right hand held a small fork—though she knew it wouldn't be needed—and in her left she carried a plate, which upon rested a large slice of coconut cake. When the elevator finished its ascent, she saw Stitch looking through the scrapbook lying on the floor.

"I finished it today." Lilo said to get his attention. He looked up with a dim smile. "It's up-to-date with the experiments we got so far…except…" She drifted in her words, and in her steps as she gave him the plate. "You're still a little sad, aren't you?"

"Eh, a little, but-"

"Well, it's like I said," she spoke cheerfully, "maybe this whole thing isn't so bad." Stitch held the plate with both hands, nodding his head as he just gazed at the cake. "You don't have to eat it," she said after a couple seconds, "I just thought it might help you get your mind off things." As she spoke she walked to his bed and plopped to a sit, and looked out the window.

"Does Lilo think," Stitch began to say, as he set the plate down on the floor and sat next to Lilo on his bed. "Does Lilo think Angel mad at Stitch?" Lilo looked back at him as she thought of an answer.

"Well, from what you said, I would say yes…but the only way to really know is if we ask her." She replied quietly. "But, I don't see why she would be, I mean, Zeus kissed _you_, not the other way around. Angel has to know that." She continued, trying not to leave an open end to his question.

"Stitch go to Angel, eh?"

"That's what I would do if I were you." She said into his eyes.

"Stitch wants to, but Stitch afraid. Naga nota Angel tekkishta, egata eeshta, jotabu…"

"Well, you want to let her know you love _her _and not Zeus, right?"

"Eh." He responded quickly, nodding his head.

"Then why not just tell her?" She suggested. Stitch's mouth hung ajar, her answer was simple but somewhat vague.

"Gaba miga chigatu? Ja-miga ishka naga tokabaka?" He asked, confused, as looked down at his feet. Lilo tapped a finger, trying to figure out how to tell him what she was implying.

"Ok, here's the thing," she began, as she hopped off his bed, "Angel and I are both girls, and I remember Nani saying that all girls kind of think the same way, and now that I know what's going on—if you want me to—I want to help."

"But, Lilo helping already." Stitch said bluntly.

"I know, but I just want you to know that that's what I'm basing my answers off of. I mean, I'm not an expert in love or anything, and I don't want to give you the wrong answer; I'll just suggest, _you _have to decide on what to do." She finished, pointing at him.

"Okay." He said, scooting forward to let his legs dangle in the air. "What does Lilo suggest?"

"Like I said, I think the best thing to do would be to confront her and tell her straightforward."

"What would Stitch say?" He asked, looking down at his feet again.

"What you want to say." Lilo replied. "Here, it'll be easy; pretend I'm Angel, and tell me you love me in your own words." She said, taking his hands and moving him off the bed.

"O-ok." he said nervously, as he let himself be led by Lilo to the middle of the room. "A-Angel," he began, clearing his throat; Lilo looked at him and smiled, trying to ignore his shyness, "uh…m-miga enjata ish…ishkuto…" He twiddled his fingers, looking down at the floor. It wasn't because he didn't know what to say that made him so uneasy, it was more that he didn't want Lilo to laugh at him if he messed up. It was also strange to speak like this to her—mostly because he was afraid she would tease him about it later. He paused and took a deep breath. "Miga enjata ishkuta…." His mouth ran dry again.

"Are you sure you know what you want to say?"

"Eh…it just hard to say it…to Lilo…" He replied slowly.

"Oh, I see." She said teasingly, rubbing his head. "Well then if you won't do it, _I _will. I'll be you and you are Angel. Ok?"

"Oketaka." He agreed, relieved he wouldn't have to embarrass himself in front of her. She took his hand and bent down on one knee, a very serious look on her face. For a second he wondered if she wasn't really acting.

"Oh Angel," she said, in a dreamy yet realistic tone, "I will love you—and only you—forever!" A rush of heat boiled in Stitch's cheeks and his eyes went blurry. "You're blushing!" Lilo exclaimed with a beam and a laugh. Stitch looked to the side to try and hide his face.

"I-is that what Stitch supposed to say?" He asked, trying to divert attention away from him.

"If you want." Lilo said, standing back up and only now letting go of his hand. "You can say it how you want, but don't choke like you did with me." She said cheerfully as she patted his shoulder. "Anything else you want me to answer?"

"Eh, what if telling Angel not work? What _if _Stitch choke?" He said, returning his look back to Lilo, his cheeks still a bit red. "Is there other way to let her know?"

"Well, try telling her without words." Lilo replied.

"Huh?"

"You know, give her something. Like, when David wants to go out on a date with Nani, he brings her a flower. Or, he gives her a kiss-"

"Iky!" Stitch interrupted in response to the word. He closed his eyes and stuck out his tongue to display his disgust toward the action.

"What's so wrong about kissing? Zeus kissed you…" Lilo commented.

"Stitch didn't know Zeus _would_." He retorted. "Kissing blegh!"

"Hey, I kissed you once, and you said you _liked_ it."

"I-iba…isa…different…" He tried to explain.

"You'd kiss Angel wouldn't you?" She quickly asked.

"U…uh…" He stammered.

"Go ahead, I'm Angel, kiss me!" She ordered, pointing to her cheek.

"B-but-"

"What's the matter, you don't want to kiss me, or you don't want kiss Angel?" She asked, mocking an angry glare at him.

"N-naga…mi-…ju-…chi-…" Finally he let loose a scream of frustration, pulling his lower eyelids as he tried to figure out why Lilo was being so shifty all of a sudden. She began to laugh at his behavior.

"Relax Stitch, I'm only kidding. You don't have to kiss me if you don't want to…because I can make you kiss me anytime I want." She said with a wink. "Anyway, I see what you're getting at." She continued, returning to her helpful tone of voice. "Gimme a second…I gotta think. What could you do to _show _Angel you love her, in case your telling her doesn't wor-duh!" She exclaimed, smacking her head and interrupting her own sentence. Stitch followed her with his eyes as she ran back across the room to her bed and picked something up off the table. "Here," she said, tossing what she had to him, "give her that."

Stitch caught it reflexively as came at him with a _chink_. He took it in his left hand and held it by the strand, and with his other hand he held the other end. It took a few seconds of looking at it before he realized what it was. His eyebrows raised and he looked up at Lilo in a close-mouthed awe.

"I didn't mean to…but I kind of listened in on you two last night. If it makes you feel any better I only heard you talking about the pendants." She explained apologetically. "I hope it's ok…you said white didn't you?" Stitch looked back down at the pendant in his hands, and then back up at Lilo.

"Eh." He said, walking over to her. "Isa perfect." He continued, as he approached her. He twiddled it in his hands for half a second, and then wrapped her in a hug. "Thanks."

"You're welcome." She cooed, scratching his back. "Does…this mean you're going to go and tell her?" She asked meekly.

"Of course." He replied, retreating from his gesture and placing the pendant on her bed. "But…will Lilo come too?" He asked. She noticed a change in his voice; she knew he was asking her to come as a confidence boost, but it also seemed like there was another reason that she couldn't see.

"Sure I…if you want me to. How are we going to find her?"

"Stitch use Jumba's computer," he answered, walking toward the elevator, "find Angel fast." He stepped on the elevator pad, but paused with one foot off, and halfway looked back at Lilo. "What if Angel _still_ angry and not listen to Stitch…even after tell and show?" He thought aloud. "Ah, nagutcha-tukki." He said, brushing off the thought as the elevator hummed down.

_"Good point…" _Lilo thought, as she stared blankly in thought. _"What if she still doesn't understand? No, he's right, she will, who wouldn't? Stitch loves her and she knows it. …But still…"_ Lilo put a hand to her cheek as she fell back on her bed, and turned her head toward the pendant as it flipped up and thumped back down. It's back opened accidentally, and Lilo stared into it, thinking about what Stitch said. She looked over to her bedside table as her thoughts wandered, and saw her diary open to a blank page with a pen to its side, and suddenly an idea hit her.

"If Stitch can't get through to her for some reason, then maybe I can." She said, as she took her diary and ripped a page out. "After all, Angel and I got to know each other a lot while we went to get Stitch." Immediately she began writing; the only sound above her breathing the next few minutes, was that of the pen scribbling misspelled words, deep thoughts, and mistake blots galore as she wrote a small letter to Angel.

Electricity and thunderclaps boomed and buzzed, but it was all contained inside of the glass-sealed molecular-transportation platform. Zeus screamed as she tried to contain her powers, and after the fourth attempt, the noises finally quieted, and Gantu pressed a button.

"How are you feeling now?" Asked Hamsterveil. Zeus looked at her hands, then at her feet, and over her entire body.

"Not any different." She replied, disappointedly.

"Good, you _shouldn't_ feel any different." He commented.

"What do you mean?" Zeus snapped. "I thought you said that…thing…was going to make me stronger. If anything I feel _weaker _than I did five minutes ago. And that was the worst pain I have ever felt in my entire existence."

"Relax!" Hamsterveil shouted, slamming his hands down on the unseen pod. The monitor shook a little on his side, and fuzzed as it tried to maintain the feed. "How dare you question my genius? That robot is designed to make you feel absolutely normal. If you try your abilities you will see that they have increased magnificently." He stated, almost challengingly. Zeus looked back at her hands, and formed a static charge.

The charge soon flashed as she gave it more power, and she let it dance across her body; the feel, the control, the precision, it was something she wasn't able to do on her own. Never before had she been this flexible with her lightning power. She banished the bolt and then concentrated a static charge around her entire body, and within moments surrounded herself with a sphere of electricity.

"Now I see." She said, as she banished the sphere. "Without feeling normal, I wouldn't be able to control this strength."

"Exactly." Hamsterveil replied with a grin.

"Thank you, Hamsterveil."

"But of course. Just, one thing," he advised, pointing a finger into the air, "do not, under any circumstances, lose this technology to any other experiment—especially 626. I will be very enraged if you do not bring it back to me in one piece."

"Of course," she said, while disappearing, "you have my word."

"…_He really does love you, even if he doesnt kno how to tell you. And, if he did tell you rite, and you still raed this_ _leter, and you find somethig I say that make you angry…don't listen to me. I want too help him, not hert him, and I'd hate to see you get angrey at him for something I said. But, one thing, I don't want him to kno about this leter, its just betweene you and me, so don't tell him, ok? Its just…this is kind of embarrassing to write, and I know that sounds funney, but please. Love, Lilo."_

She looked back over her shoulder as she finished the last paragraph of her letter; Stitch hadn't returned. Her hand hurt a small bit, her wrist felt loose, and her cheeks were red from the heavy thinking and fast writing, but she was satisfied. She only hoped Stitch wouldn't find out about it as she folded it up and put it in the back of the pendant, with one corner barely peeking out.

"Lilo, hurry!" Stitch said, suddenly appearing in front of her. She suppressed a gasp and looked at him, trying to appear concerned.

"What is it?" She asked.

"Angel and Zeus close to each other. Zeus heading straight for Angel, hurry!" He pulled her up, ran, and jumped down the elevator chute while Lilo was forced to wait for it to rise. When she arrived at the bottom Jumba called her name before she could follow Stitch down the stairs.

"What is it Jumba?" She asked hastily.

"Jumba is worried little girl will get hurt if she goes after 599. Is very dangerous because can generate lightning. Older sibling will not be too happy with Jumba if littler sister is fried to crispy crunchiness."

"I don't care if Zeus can make lightning, I'm going; Stitch wants me to, and there isn't anything you can do to stop me." She said sternly.

"Who said anything about stopping you? Here," he said, handing her something that looked relatively like a wrist-watch, "this will keep little girl safe from lightning. Just don't be overloading it, ok?" He whispered.

"Ok," she said, smiling up at him as she wrapped it around her wrist, "thanks Jumba."

"Don't be mentioning it."

"Lilo!" Stitch shouted from downstairs.

"I'm coming Stitch!" In a moment she was finally at the back door, but Stitch was already a small dot outside. "Hey! Slow down, I can't run as fast as you!" She saw him stop in the distance and turn around. He ran back at her and met her half way.

"Iggita." He said, as he went down on all fours.

"You sure?" She asked hesitantly.

"Eh, iggita!" He demanded

"Alright." Lilo said, as she climbed onto his back. "Let's go!" She yelled, and Stitch ran full-speed toward the spot where Angel and Zeus were about to meet—the one spot he knew the most; the meadow of leaves where he'd been so many times before.


	10. To Speak The Heart

Passion

C/By: Kenjaje

Edited/Revised by: raVen

Chapter 10: To Speak The Heart

_"Why did he run?" _Angel thought, sighing as she leaned against the old knotted tree on the hill.

"_He ran because of me, he thought I was angry at him._" She replied to her thoughts.

"_But the look on his face before he fled, it almost seemed like he felt remorseful about something." _She was well aware by now that her thoughts were challenging her words.

"_Oh shut up._" She replied, with a bored tone. "_Stop thinking, you're just making excuses. It wasn't his fault; it was mine. I may as well have attacked him instead of Zeus. She kissed him, not the other way around. I had no right to intervene._"

_"But you did."_

"_Of course I did. At the time, I thought it was unfair; Zeus shouldn't have kissed him and told him she loved him because I did. I mean…I still do. It just…made me angry that she was doing that in front of me, that's all._"

_"Angry? You were _more _than angry."_

"_Was I? Was it…jealousy then? No…well, maybe. What does it matter, the point is, I tried to stop him because I thought he wanted me to…and I ended up blowing it_."

_"Do you think he still loves you? Do you think he'll come to you?"_

"_I don't know. I wouldn't be surprised if he didn't come back to me though. Only a miracle would make him want to willingly see me again after what I did_." She sighed again, her thoughts finally stopping, and stared at the cloudy sky. The sun was barely visible, only a spot of lighter clouds pinpointed where it was; it seemed a good distance past the highest point of the sky.

A drop of water hit her eye, which made her blink, but not with surprise. She suddenly felt a cold chill run down her back, and her pulse increased as she tried to slow her breathing. She closed her eyes and slid down the tree, eventually sitting with her arms crossed over her knees, and her head resting against them. She knew Zeus was back, but what she didn't realize was how close Zeus was to her.

"Hurry Stitch, it's starting to rain!"

"Makka-makka!" He shouted back over the sudden roar of a thunderclap. The rain came down in a few drops, then a complete mass, and Stitch was now fighting to keep his balance. He galloped over a log, and a branch, and slipped in a muddy puddle on the straight path beyond. He kept from falling, and shifted his weight so that Lilo could get a better grip on his shoulders. Her legs were at his sides, clasping tight around him, but not enough to cause discomfort. Her head was behind his as she ducked low to keep away from the branches. At one point, she was in the back of his right eye. When he looked behind him to see if she was ok, she smiled, and squeezed her hands, telling him to concentrate.

Suddenly the echoing raindrops of the forest vanished as they left the tree line, leaving only the ground for the sound of the pitter-pattering to emanate from. The sky was now dark with thick, black clouds, and a fine, bright fog covered the area, disguising the far horizon in the distance.

Stitch didn't stop; he ran down the hill, spotted Angel on the far side near the tree, and also spotted what he feared the most. His heart pounded furiously as he increased his speed, trying to faster.

Lilo looked down at him, she could feel his pulse from his shoulders. Quickly she realized why he had to work so hard. He was dragging her weight, causing him to slow down a bit no matter how hard her worked. She squeezed his shoulders and leaned over to his ear.

"Don't stop, keep going." She whispered, competing with another thunderclap. Stitch felt her weight immediately disappear from his back, relieving him of the strain. He silently thanked her and bulleted up the hill where Angel and Zeus were.

"624." Zeus said, as she landed a yard away from the tree. "I believe you and I need to…talk." She waited a moment, to give Angel a chance to speak. She saw the pink experiment stand and lean against the tree, but she didn't do anything else.

"Emigachu Angel." She said, speaking to Zeus from behind the tree..

"Angel then." Zeus replied, her stern tone unchanging. Angel could tell that Zeus wasn't here for a peaceful conversation; her aggravated speech was clearly giving her away. But Angel wasn't about to get aggravated. She didn't want to make a mistake like last time. "You do realize that only one of us can love him. I don't know about you, but I don't think I can stand sharing him."

"_Why not let him decide?_" Angel replied.

"He can decide on his own…this is between you and me." Angel heard a crackling noise behind her, and curiously peeked her head around the tree, only to see a bright flash heading toward her. She stepped back, just in time to see the tree she was standing next to get struck with the lightning.

"_You're asking me to fight?_" Angel asked, half surprised. Zeus merely smiled. Angel dropped her shoulders and stood straight, staring back at Zeus degradingly. "_I won't fight you._"

"What's the matter?" Zeus asked, as static crackled over her hands. "You were the one who struck first, remember?" Her eyes flashed, and soon were masked with a white glow. She seemed both angry and excited. Angel's legs lost their feeling; even if she wanted to run she wouldn't be able to, she'd take only a few steps and fall over. She stood petrified as Zeus charged another lightning bolt, and felt a shiver run down her back as she saw it come at her. But it missed. Angel felt something—someone—push her to the side, tackling her to evade the bolt. After the spots in her vision disappeared, she saw Stitch standing at her feet, facing Zeus.

"_Stitch?_" She asked, but it barely came out a whisper. An eerie silence came over the area, only the sound of thunder and lightning echoed across the sky. Angel felt both relieved and scared—he came back to her.

"What are you doing boochie-boo?" Came Zeus' voice. "That could've hit you!" Stitch didn't say anything. Angel wondered what Stitch was thinking, how he was feeling, what he was doing, but she couldn't tell anything. All she could see was his back. "This doesn't involve you, Stitch. Get out of the way, I don't want to hurt you."

"Then don't hurt Angel." He said calmly. Angel could barely hear his voice over the thunderclap.

"…I said I don't _want_ to hurt you," Zeus said, hesitantly, "but I have to settle this, so if I have to…I'm deeply sorry." She closed her eyes and let the static wash over her hands again.

"Ju naga kishta!" Stitch shouted.

"I wouldn't before, you're right." She replied as the static field over her fists grew in size. "But now is a different story. You see, I went to Hamsterveil, and he had a way to improve my strength. Unfortunately for some reason, I'm not able to stop myself now, like I'm being controlled." Angel saw Stitch drop his stance a little. Zeus spoke almost sadly, like she didn't know what was going on, and regretted having done whatever she did. But just as easily as Stitch dropped his stance, he picked it back up again, determined to stop her..

"Zeus still not hurt Angel." He declared.

"Then I'm sorry." Zeus replied, as she lifted her hands up to throw the electricity she gathered. Stitch readied himself to move Angel and—if he was lucky—himself out of the way. But he heard a sound that made his ears twitch with wonder, and made him drop his concentration once again. It was something like the sound of someone throwing a pebble into a pond. Zeus' body splashed and rippled, and Stitch saw a stone pass through her; entering in her right side, slowing down, and then rocketing out her left.

"Hey! Bug zapper!" Came a voice. Zeus dropped her hands and darted her glare toward the source. Stitch followed, and saw Lilo standing nearly a yard away from Zeus. "Leave them alone! If you wanna electrocute someone so bad, zap me!" Zeus' eyes narrowed.

"Gladly!" She shouted, throwing the charge without hesitation.

"Lilo naga!" Stitch and Angel both yelled. Stitch tried to run, but after one step he was too late, the lightning bolt was already too close to her. He closed his eyes, unable to watch.

_"I hope this works, Jumba." _Lilo thought as she closed her eyes trustingly. She saw the bright light through her eyelids, and braced herself for the possible failure of her idea. The light continued to shine in her eyes, but as she lifted her arms to cover her face, she didn't feel anything except static, which made her clothes cling to her body along with her hair. But then she heard something that filled her with dread; the watch on her wrist was beeping, and she figured that meant it was about to give in.

Stitch opened his eyes just as a massive flash crackled and blazed to life. His vision was blinded and his head felt dizzy. For a moment, he felt an extreme vertigo, but it almost instantly went away. His eyes, however, took a few more seconds to return back to normal. He could barely make out what he was seeing, but he knew where to run, and as he made his way toward Lilo, he heard the sound of the family buggy coming up the hill.

"Yah!" Jumba screamed. "Mr. Bubblies throw the switch!"

"That's _Bubbles!_" Cobra yelled back as he stood up, turned around and pulled down on a lever to turn on the giant fan attached to the buggy. In the front, a giant machine popped out from the hood, and aimed itself at Zeus. Stitch looked behind him to see what was going on, and saw the massive machine—which looked oddly enough like a giant hairdryer—and flinched as he saw it spew fire.

"Oi! Shut it off! Shut it off!" Jumba's voice shouted, and immediately the flame was cut as the fan died down. Jumba laughed erratically. "Well, was a bit much, but evaporated 599!"

"Jumba, what have you done?" Pleakley's voice shouted.

"Don't be worrying, 599 will pull herself together sometime soon…until then, let's see if…" Jumba trailed as he saw what was going on. Stitch was near Lilo, who was waking up, and Angel was on the ground, trying to stand to her feet. They looked as though they hadn't even noticed the buggy.

"See if what?" Pleakley asked.

"Never minding. Eh…perhapsing we should go back. Am thinking work here is done." Jumba suggested, scratching his head.

"What about them? Shouldn't we take them back?" Pleakley asked.

"Is not enough room in buggy. Let's go back, and I'll drop you two off, come here, and pick up little girl, 626, and 624."

"Well," Pleakley said, tapping his chin, "I guess you have a point." He stood up in the seat as Jumba turned the ignition. "We'll be back for you in a minute, ok?" He shouted to them, as Jumba drove away.

"Lilo, Lilo?" Stitch shook her, trying to wake her up. She moved her arm, and he held his breath, hoping that she was all right.

"What?" She asked, her voice sounding tired. She opened her eyes and sat up, leaning on her palms as Stitch hugged her and exhaled. She looked over his head, between his ears, and saw Angel, now standing up. Lilo saw her look at them for a moment, then turn around. "Hey," Lilo said, using Stitch to help her to a forward sit, "don't you have something to say to someone?" She lifted the pendant off of her neck, and put it in his hands. "Don't forget this." She said, looking up at him.

He stared back for a moment, then down at the pendant. He stood and ran to Angel in one motion, catching up to her in only a few seconds. Lilo fell back on her palms again as she watched, hoping that he would get through to her. Angel stopped as he neared her, but didn't turn around. Stitch halfway looked back at Lilo, but stopped and turned back to Angel.

"A-Angel," he said, as he reached down to take her fisted hand, "Stitch…has something to say." He paused, giving her a chance to respond, but as he expected, she didn't. She did, however, open her hand, and relax her arm. Gently he turned her wrist so her palm faced up, and placed the pendant in her hand. "I…I love you…and only you…" He said, taking a deep breath. "Forever." He finished, letting go of her hand. He closed his eyes and turned his head. "Angel can go now, if Angel wants." He sighed as he heard her footsteps recede.

She didn't want to; she wanted to stay and turn around—tell him she loved him back and embrace him. But she couldn't; she was too afraid. She didn't want him to see her cry. She was afraid he might think otherwise. She didn't know what to do—couldn't think of what to do—so she ran.

"Did…Stitch do good?" He asked, as he heard Lilo come up from behind, and felt her hand on his shoulder. He felt her arms circle around him.

"You did beautifully Stitch." She replied with a quiet, happy tone.

"Then…why did Angel run?" She let out a winded laugh.

"If I were Angel…I would've ran too." She said, as she let him go. He turned around and met her eyes with a dim smile. He was happy, but still unsure.

"Lilo?"

"Yeah?"

"Can we go to beach?"

"Why?"

"Naga nota…just want to go."

"Sure." She replied softly, as she took his arm. "If you want."


	11. A Change Of Mind

Passion

C/By: Kenjaje

Edited/Revised by: raVen

Chapter 11: A Change Of Mind

Laughter flew through the house as Lilo and Stitch ran amok. The unsuspecting, quiet home, was hit quite suddenly by the two as they pounded through the front door and zoomed their way around the kitchen, through the back hall, back into the living room, and finally up the stairs, where they ran into Jumba.

"Little girl should watch where she is going." Jumba chuckled, as he helped Lilo to her feet. "Also should have told Jumba you were going to beach, otherwise would not have had to look."

"Sorry about that Jumba,"

"Eh, soka,"

"But hey, you found us, and we told you then." She finished, smiling innocently.

"Is good point. Well, am glad to see little girl and 626 are all right…but where is being 624? Was she not with you?"

"Naga,"

"No, she left, but we're hoping she'll come back." Jumba paused and put a finger to his chin. "Come on Stitch, we gotta get the shovels, otherwise our sandcastle will fall!"

"Coming." He said, as they both went up the elevator.

"Is strange," Jumba thought aloud, "I thought 626 said he was going to find 624 and bring her back…why then is she not here? And also, for looking so tired after encounter with 599, are seeming very peppy." He tapped his chin a few more times, but couldn't think of a reason. "Is not my concern." He answered himself, shrugging his shoulders.

"Where is it?" Lilo asked, as she rummaged through the closet. "I know it's around here somewhere…"

"Lilo?" Stitch asked, after he searched on the other side of the room.

"Huh?" She said, without stopping her search.

"Think Angel _will _come back?" She paused, and receded from the closet.

"Maybe…no, I bet she will, she has to, because it'd be mean not-" Lilo's mouth hung open and her eyes darted across the ceiling. Stitch wondered what caught her attention. She turned around on her knees and stood to her feet, looking around.

"Gaba-"

"Shush." She interrupted, and quickly he closed his lips. She took a step toward the far window, and then paused. A moment later she walked at a calm pace, and pushed up against the glass, manually opening it. "Hey," Lilo shouted, sitting up on the sill and poking her head out the window and looking up, "are you just gonna stay there for the rest of the day?"

Stitch saw her look at something, a nonverbal sign he imagined, and stood up as Lilo came back through. He knew what was coming, but he didn't want to get his hopes up. Lilo often joked to calm his nerves, and he couldn't tell if this was a joke or if she was actually talking to someone. In answering, Angel's feet landed on the sill, and the rest of her climbed through with little trouble.

"Angel." He said, trying and failing to sound surprised. She appeared happy on the outside, but at the corners of her smile an uneasy straightness in her lips caught his eye. Stitch felt a touch on his shoulder.

"I knew she would come back." Lilo whispered as she passed him on her way toward the elevator.

"_Where are you going?_" Angel asked, before Lilo could set a foot on the pad.

"Me?" She asked rhetorically, pointing to herself. "I was…going down to talk to my sister, I think she called me." Angel gave the glance that told Lilo she knew she was lying.

"_Your sister's outside._" Angel said, pointing to the window. "_If she called you, I would've heard._"

"Oh…my mistake." She said with a shrug and unconvincing casual laugh. Apparently, Angel wanted her to stay. When she looked at Stitch he seemed not to notice what was going on.

"Angel," he began, after Lilo's laugh, "about running away-" Angel quickly stepped over and put a finger on his mouth, telling him to stop while Lilo quietly made her way to sit on the bed.

"_Hold on, before you start, I've got something to say._" She paused for a second, and then lifted her finger.

"Oketaka." He acknowledged.

"_I shouldn't have done what I did when Zeus kissed you._" She said, involuntarily reaching for the pendant hanging around her neck. "_It was really stupid, and she was right, there wasn't a reason for my attacking her-_"

"Naga-," He tried to protest, reaching to put a hand on her shoulder.

"_Let me finish._" She cut in calmly. His arm froze, hung, and then went down back by his side. "_I know you love me now, but when she kissed you…after you couldn't escape…for a second it was like I was about to lose you._" She said, letting go of the pendant and reaching for his hand.

"Angel not lose Stitch…never lose. Stitch liked kiss, but not enough to forget Angel." He said.

"_I know. It should have never crossed my mind. But, there's still something else. Before I came here, I started thinking, 'what if it was different, and _I_ was the one being kissed?'_" She squeezed his hand and looked up at him, smiling honestly. "_I still don't know for sure what I would do, but I imagine I'd do what you did…run away. I know I worried you, and I'm sorry, so I wanted to make it up to you._"

"Make it up?" He asked, raising an eyebrow.

"_Well, to be more clear, let's say that, when she kissed you, you _did _fall in love with her, even if it was for a second._" She began hypothetically.

_"I kind of did." _Stitch admitted silently.

"_Well, if it happened to me instead, then I realize that you and I both could easily lose sight of each other, even for a second, and that could tear us apart, like it almost did. So I figure, the best way to keep us together is to stay together._" She smiled as she saw Stitch's expression; he was beginning to realize what Angel was getting at. "_And that's why I've decided—if it's alright with everyone else that is,_" she said, looking toward Lilo, "_I want to stay with you, so that I can make sure you don't fall in love with someone else. And so you can make sure I don't either._" She spoke with an excited smile, and was pleased with his reaction to what she said.

He wasn't truly expecting her to say such a thing, especially after the many times she had turned his offer down before. At first he looked at her with a narrow eye, wondering if he'd heard wrongly. But she smiled and nodded, letting him know that he wasn't imagining what he heard, and then felt his arms wrap around her. After a long pause, he let go, and chuckled a bit as he stroked his arm, a bit embarrassed by his action.

"_By the way,_" Angel said, "_I wanted to thank you, for the pendant. I think it looks lovely._" Stitch looked at it, and smiled.

"Naga miga, enjata Lilo." He said. Angel turned to face her with a smile, which Lilo returned a moment later after just realizing they were done. She had tried not to pay attention, but—despite her attempt—still heard everything.

"_Then thanks,_" Angel repeated, and then added, "_for the pendant, _and_ the letter._" Angel saw the twitch in Lilo's eyes, and felt the wave of nervousness splash upon her. Angel was now certain as to just how deep that letter was; judging by the uneasy posture Lilo took.

"L-letter?" Lilo asked, trying to hide her stutter. She further tried to hide her nervousness by moving to lie down on the bed.

"Lilo wrote letter?" Stitch asked, looking from one girl to the other, not understanding.

"No, I didn-" Lilo began to say with an agitated laugh of disbelief. But Angel interrupted her.

"_I'm sorry Stitch, I would show you,_" she said, looking at Lilo and winking, "_but I lost it on the way over here._"

"Oh…ok…" He said as he shook his head and shrugged, still not quite understanding. Angel gave a quick apologetic glance toward Lilo.

"Oh hey," Lilo started, trying to change the subject, "speaking about pendants, Stitch," she hopped off the bed and pulled out the drawer on her bedside table, "I forgot to give yours back." Deftly she pulled the green pendant out of the drawer by the chain and caught it with her other hand. She brought it over, and handed it to him stone up. He looked at it while she spoke again. "I know you didn't want Gantu's symbol on there, so I tried to think of a way to get it out…but I couldn't do much without damaging the stone." She looked back at him. "I tried." She finished, apologetically.

Stitch looked at the stone, holding it up to the evening light. The scratches that made the symbol were still deep, but they were a bit less noticeable. He lowered it back down and stared it at for a few seconds, thinking. The symbol looked familiar to another symbol but he couldn't think of it off the top of his head.

"Oh yeah!" He exclaimed, as he finally remembered what symbol he was thinking about. With a flick of his wrist he extended all the claws on his free hand, and then retracted them again with the exception of one with a very fine point. He then began work on scratching into the stone, making horrible, yet subtle scraping noises. After four nicks, he looked it over, snorted with satisfaction, and turned it for Lilo and Angel so they could see what he did. Lilo scrutinized it, but didn't understand what he was showing her. Angel, however, obviously got it. Stitch showed a clever grin as she burst into an astonished laugh.

"What did he do?" Lilo asked, with a left-out tone in her voice. "What's so funny?"

"Miga jiste ichita, agachoota." He explained, pointing to the pendant.

"…What?" Lilo asked again.

"_Let me tell her._" Angel said, taking the pendant from him. "_This symbol,_" she explained, covering up a few of the marks on the stone, "_Makes the sound 'Gantu'._ _But if you add these marks, like he did,_" She pulled her fingers away, and displayed the entire symbol, _"the pronunciation changes to 'Ganazu'._"

"Ganazu?" Lilo repeated. "What's Ganazu?" Both Stitch and Angel's faces straightened into a calm smile. Angel looked at Stitch, as if to say it was his turn to answer her question.

"Ganazu is word, means," he said, taking one of Lilo and Angel's hands in each of his, while Angel took Lilo's other hand, "togetherness."

"I got the sheets, is the bed ready Stitch?" Lilo asked over the hammering noise.

"Youch!" He screamed.

"Hit your thumb." Lilo stated.

"Chuto…" He replied painfully.

"Here." She cooed, taking his hand and kissing it. "There, now it'll get better."

"Oketaka." He smiled.

"_I appreciate you two doing this but…did you really have to do it tonight? I could've just slept on the floor or something._" Angel said as she rose up from the elevator carrying a pillowcase and blankets.

"No big deal." Lilo said, as she tested the newly installed bed meant for Angel. "The hinges seem to work." Stitch jumped up on the bed, to make sure it could hold his weight. After landing, he paused, and tapped his foot a few times, which caused the bed and him to fall on the floor.

"No legweesta." He murmured as he picked up the hammer and blurrily nailed the faulty hinge in again. Another test proved it was stable. "Perfecto."

"Good, now move, I gotta make it." Lilo pulled him off by his legs and immediately began putting the sheets on. Angel did the pillow and blanket, and in a few minutes the new bed was ready for sleeping in. "Just in time, too. It's late." Lilo said, looking over at the clock, which read close to ten. "I don't know about you guys, but I'm _way _tired." She said, slumping over to her bed.

"Oh yeah." They both replied in agreement. All three climbed into their beds, and Lilo waited before she turned out the light. "Enchujae." Stitch bid.

"Enchujae." Angel responded.

"Yeah, however the heck you say it." Lilo said sarcastically as she turned out the light. Angel relaxed with her eyes closed, but didn't fall asleep. She kept her hand on the pendant around her neck as she waited for the other two to doze off. For a half hour she waited until their breathing was even and slumberous.

Quietly she rustled out of the covers, and lowered herself to the floor, softly putting one foot after the other, trying not to wake the other two. Holding the pendant close to her chest so it wouldn't make any noise, she made her way to the farthest window away from the beds, and opened it with only a small _click_. The night was breezy as she climbed her way out, and lowered the window so that it was loosely closed.

She exhaled as she finally relaxed, and scaled her way to the top of the roof. She could be a bit noisier now, as long as she didn't accidentally knock against the ceiling. She let go of the pendant and let it fall free, and leaned back on her palms, staring up at the sky. Most of the clouds were gone, and the ones that were left had a dim blue ridge around them, with dark navy bottoms, still threatening a tiny drizzle.

Angel waited until her eyes adjusted to the light, as she stared at the scenery. It was a lot different from here, a lot prettier. She could see the tree that she was leaning against before Zeus attacked her—or at least what was left of it. She drew her thoughts away from the day, and adjusted herself so she could sit cross-legged. She took the pendant off her neck and held the bulk of it in her palm, looking at the stone. It shined a bit blue in the moonlight.

She liked the stone and thought it was very pretty to look at, but that wasn't the reason why she took the pendant off. She turned it around to the back; the gold also shined a bit blue where the moonlight was strongest. She extended a claw, and traced it across the flat surface, passing it over a few times before she located the tiny crevice she was looking for. Using her claw as wedge, she popped open the compartment in the back, and took out what was inside.

She looked back up at the moon, hoping there weren't going to be any clouds blocking the way for a few minutes, and then back down at the object in her hand; a folded piece of paper. Gently she unfolded it, and turned it right side up, and panned across the letters written in black ink.

She smiled as a tear dropped from her eye. This was what gave her the courage to come back; without it she wouldn't have been able to speak to Stitch. It was more the way the letter was written, rather than what was there. It sounded disheartened and pleading, which made her feel guilty, and yet happy because it let her know she had a friend—or maybe something more.

She wiped the drop that fell down her cheek away with her hand and returned it to hold the paper still. She smiled as she read the letter aloud once more,

"_Dear Angel…_"

Atichura 

**(The End)**

(The next one may be a little slow to come, as my editor is also co-authoring, so don't be distressed if it doesn't come too soon.)


End file.
